INDUS WATERS TREATY

• The Union government on Friday instructed officials in Jammu & Kashmir to scale up efforts for “better utilisation of the country’s rights under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)” over the three rivers flowing through the Union Territory. Deputy National Security Adviser Sari Vikram Misri chaired the second meeting of the special task force in Srinagar “to ensure exercise of India’s rights under the IWT”.
• The meeting took stock of the progress made on various hydro power projects in J&K. It was noted that progress had been made on several fronts and emphasis was laid on completing the works on all the Indus Basin Projects in a timely manner to enable better utilisation of India’s rights under the IWT.
• The high-level meeting was attended by top officials, including J&K’s Principal Secretary of the Power Development Department, officials from the Ministry of External Affairs and Commissioner (Indus) and the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• The Deputy NSA also met J&K Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha and apprised him of the ongoing efforts to monitor implementation of hydro power projects in the Indus Basin under the directions of the Prime Minister’s Office. “The L-G assured full cooperation in this national endeavour.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB