Holding discussions with Centre over resumption of power projects: Omar
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, June 12: As there are no restrictions after the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) being put in abeyance, Union Minister for Power and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar, today said that the Centre will move ahead with new power projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
Khattar said that as India has now sovereign claim over its waters, the country will now fully utilize it. “As the IWT continues to remain in abeyance, we are moving forward with new power projects in J&K,” he said.
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The Minister said that new hydropower projects would be initiated in the region soon. He said Pakistan’s earlier objections, including those against the 1981 Wullar Barrage project, no longer hold India back. “Now there is no need for consent, we will restart that project. It will be completed soon,” he added.
Khattar warned Pakistan of strong response in case of any misadventure over the IWT. “They have already received their answer. If they act again, they will get a stronger one,” he said.
“Earlier, we needed their (Pakistan’s) consent. Now, that limitation is gone,” he said.
On possible dialogue with Pakistan, Khattar said, “Talks and terror cannot go together. Trade and terror cannot go together. Blood and water would not flow together.”
Asked about a possible Chinese reaction to water use on the Brahmaputra, he said, “These are strategic matters, and we should not speculate.”
Dismissing reports of cyberattacks on Government infrastructure, Khattar clarified that a recent outage was caused by a physical line break, not a cyber incident. “Power was restored within five hours,” he said.
Hailing the last 11 years of governance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a period of “historic transformation,” the minister said 2014 marked a pivotal shift in Indian governance aimed at correcting the “deficits” of the previous 67 years. He credited Modi’s grassroots experience as Gujarat’s Chief Minister and focus on civic issues as key drivers of this transformation.
The Minister described the abrogation of Article 370 as a move that “removed a barrier to national unity,” fully integrating Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Constitutional framework. He said infrastructure upgrades, such as the Vande Bharat Express would help Kashmiri farmers reach wider markets.
He added that 99% of Indian villages now have all-weather road access and that India ranks third globally in metro infrastructure. Travel time on key routes like the Srinagar-Jammu highway has been halved.
Affirming the BJP’s commitment to internal democracy, the Minister said the party’s next national president will be elected within a month. “We respond not to political parties, but to the people through delivery,” he said.
In the meantime, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that as the IWT is in abeyance, his Government is holding discussions with the Centre on the resumption of development projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
“After the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, we have two projects on which work can start soon, one is in Kashmir and the other is in Jammu. Now, talks are going on with the Central Government regarding both the projects,” Omar said here.
The Chief Minister was talking to reporters after a meeting with Union Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the SKICC here.
At the review meeting, Omar said it was related to Centrally Sponsored Projects and Schemes under the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs – both departments that he handles.
“Overall, progress in both areas has been fairly satisfactory. We also discussed areas where we have expectations from the Centre. In some places, there were minor shortcomings, and we have received suggestions on how to correct them. We will implement those,” he said.
To a question on the Power Department facing losses, the Chief Minister said it is still in debt because there is a difference in the price at which the Government purchases and supplies power.
“We are supplying power to everyone on a concession basis. Be it a domestic consumer or commercial consumer or industrial consumer, everyone takes power at concession rates. But it will get better gradually,” he said.
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