Baglihar Dam

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Baglihar Dam
Location of Baglihar Dam in Jammu and Kashmir
Country	India
Location	Ramban district, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Coordinates	33°09′43″N 75°19′40″E / 33.16194°N 75.32778°E / 33.16194; 75.32778
Construction began	1999
Opening date	2008
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity
Impounds	Chenab River
Height	143 m (469 ft)
Length	317 m (1,040 ft)
Elevation at crest	843 m (2,766 ft)
Dam volume	1,800,000 m3 (63,566,400 cu ft)
Spillway type	Chute type
Spillway capacity	16,500 m3/s (582,692 cu ft/s)[1]
Reservoir
Total capacity	395,950,000 m3 (321,002 acre⋅ft)[2]
Active capacity	32,560,000 m3 (26,397 acre⋅ft) above 836 m msl
Surface area	8,079,000 m2 (1,996 acres)
Normal elevation	840 m msl (FRL or full pond level)
Power Station
Commission date	Stage I: 2008-09 Stage II: 2015-16
Hydraulic head	130 m (427 ft) (gross)
Turbines	Stage I: 3 x 150 MW Francis-type Stage II: 3 x 150 MW Francis-type
Installed capacity	Stage I: 450 MW Stage II: 450 MW Total: 900 MW

Baglihar Dam (Hindi: Baglihār Bāndh), also known as Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project, is a run-of-the-river power project on the Chenab River in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.^[3] The first power project executed by the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation, it was conceived in 1992 and approved in 1996, with construction begun in 1999. The project was estimated to cost US$1 billion. The project consists of two-stage of 450MW each. The first stage of the project was completed in 2008-09 and was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India. The second stage of the project was completed in 2015–16, and was subsequently dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.^[4][2]

After construction began in 1999, Pakistan objected that the design parameters of the Baglihar project violated the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. The treaty provides for India to make use of the three western rivers of the Indus River system, including Chenab River, in constrained ways.^[5] India can only establish run-of-the-river power projects with limited reservoir capacity and limited control over flows needed for feasible power generation. Availing this provision, India planned for several run-of-the-river projects, with Pakistan objecting to them. In the case of the Baglihar and Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plants, Pakistan claimed that some design parameters were too lax. It claimed that they were not needed for feasible power generation but for gaining an excessive ability to accelerate, decelerate or block the flow of the water, thus giving India a strategic leverage in times of political tension or war.

During 1999-2004 India and Pakistan held several rounds of talks on the design of the project, but could not reach an agreement. After the failure of talks on 18 January 2005, Pakistan raised six objections to the World Bank, a broker and signatory of Indus Water Treaty. In April 2005 the World Bank determined the Pakistani claim as a ‘Difference’, a classification that is in-between the less serious ‘Question’ and the more serious ‘Dispute’. In May 2005, it appointed Professor Raymond Lafitte, a Swiss civil engineer as a neutral expert to adjudicate the difference.

Lafitte declared his final verdict on 12 February 2007,^[6][7] in which he upheld some minor objections of Pakistan, requiring that pondage capacity be reduced by 13.5%, the height of dam be reduced by 1.5 meters, and power intake tunnels be raised by 3 meters, thereby limiting some flow control capabilities of the earlier design. However, he rejected Pakistani objections on height and gated control of the spillway, declaring that these features conformed to the engineering norms of the day. Pakistan government expressed its disappointment at the outcome.

The verdict acknowledged India's right to construct 'gated spillways' under Indus Water Treaty. The report allowed pondage of 32.56 million cubic meters against India's demand for 37.5 million cubic metres. The report also recommended reducing the height of freeboard from 1.5 m to nil and surcharge storage unchanged at 3 m. The verdict permitted drawdown flushing to prevent silt accumulation in the reservoir which has enhanced the life of the reservoir to above 80 years. Without drawdown flushing, the reservoir would have been completely silted in 13 years period by 2017.^[8]

On 1 June 2010, India and Pakistan had a meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission, where they resolved the issue relating to the initial filling of Baglihar dam. According to PTI, "the two sides discussed the issue at length without any prejudice to each other's stand...Indian and Pakistani teams resolved the issue relating to the initial filling of Baglihar dam after discussions." Pakistan also agreed not to raise the issue further.^[9][10]

• Ratle Hydroelectric Plant – under construction upstream
• Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant
• Salal Hydroelectric Power Station
• Rivers of Jammu and Kashmir

• Bakshi, Gitanjali; Trivedi, Sahiba (2011), The Indus Equation (PDF), Strategic Foresight Group, retrieved 28 October 2014
• Gazdar, Haris (26 February 2005), "Baglihar and Politics of Water: A Historical Perspective from Pakistan", Economic and Political Weekly, 40 (9): 813–817, JSTOR 4416263
• Salman, Salman M. A. (2008). "The Baglihar difference and its resolution process - a triumph for the Indus Waters Treaty?". Water Policy. 10 (2): 105–117. doi:10.2166/wp.2008.060b.}
• Sinha, Rajesh (18 February 2006), "Two Neighbours and a Treaty: Baglihar Project in Hot Waters", Economic and Political Weekly, 41 (7): 606–608, JSTOR 4417834
• Wirsing, Robert G.; Jasparro, Christopher (May 2006), Spotlight on Indus River Diplomacy: India, Pakistan, and the Baglihar Dam Dispute (PDF), Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2020

• "The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 (with annexes)" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
• Baglihar Dam cleared by neutral expert, Government of India press release, 12 February 2007.
• PM’s opening remarks at the Press Conference, Government of India, 10 October 2008.