Upreti, Trilochan, International Watercourses Law and Its Application ...
Upreti, Trilochan, International Watercourses Law and Its Application ... Upreti, Trilochan, International Watercourses Law and Its Application ...
218 / International Watercourses Law and Its Application in South Asia Prospects and Problems of Nepalese Water Resources / 219within 30 years. 118 Nepal has already spent a huge amount ofmoney on these studies. 119 A series of talks and negotiationsbetween Nepal and India were held at a high level, and at atechnical level as well. It is worth noting that India hadreiterated its willingness to co-operate in the Karnali Projectand also agreed to purchase surplus energy generated from it.Subsequently, on 4 February 1983, India and Nepal agreed toexecute three major multipurpose projects: Karnali,Pancheshwar and West Rapti; this was considered to be a majorbreakthrough in the field of bilateral co-operation in the waterresources sector, but nothing was achieved because Indiarefused to recognise some of the benefits recommended by theconsultant, particularly from flood control and irrigation. 120In addition to the above, the seventh meeting of the Karnali CoordinationCommittee (KCC), held in December 1988, showedserious differences over the sharing of the costs and benefits,and other components of the project; consequently, no tangibleagreements were possible. 121 Many governments over the pastfifteen years indicated great interest in the projects, and severaltalks were held; for example, the HHDC reports were thesubject of frequent discussion and a severe difference ofopinion emerged between the Nepali and Indian delegates.India has expressed a preference for a lower dam at Chisapanithat might yield around 7000 MW of electricity, and at areduced cost which would be easier to finance. She hasindicated two or three other upstream projects on the Karnalithat could be taken up, which, it is argued, would be morebeneficial, and needed in order to yield more energy. Moreover,a lower Karnali dam is also seen to pose less of a seismic118 Supra note 8 p. 328; also see supra note 20, p. 203.119 Supra note 21 pp. 203-204.120 Supra note 20, pp.203-204.121 Supra note 22, p. 344.problem and to cause less displacement of people. 122 TheIndian ideas remain unconvincing and seriously flawed from atechnical, legal and political point of view. The nonimplementationof the Karnali high dam, as observed by theeminent scholar and former Foreign Minster of Nepal, Shah,"furnishes a classical example of how the inherentweakness of a poor developing country renders ithelpless in the end against the interplay of variousforces represented by vested interest among thedonor countries and international agencies forfinancing. Nepal's much vaunted Karnali projectremains still unimplemented in spite of fourfavourable feasibility reports by internationallyreputed consulting agencies over a period of morethan two decades.” 123B. The Sapta Kosi High Dam ProjectIn Sanskrit, this river is called the Kausika and is one of thelargest tributaries of the Ganges. The Sapta Kosi river is thebiggest river basin in Nepal and is the third largest in Asia(after the Indus and Brahmputra); it has seven tributaries, 124some of them originating in Tibet and others in the Himalayanbelt by the Indo-China border. The catchment area is about25,600 sq km; the basin extends about 270 km from northwest122 The main objection from the Indian side was that the project area was20 miles within Nepalese territory and as such their control over solarge a base of power would be limited, and therefore security wasinadequate. Whereas in Nepal, some went so far as to ask 'will Nepalown the Karnali, or the Karnali own Nepal because of the magnitude ofthe project and about Nepal’s capacity to handle it properly. Also seesupra note 4, pp.209-210.123 R. Shah, "Politics of Water Power in Nepal" (1994) in 4 Water Nepal,pp. 286-287.124 Supra note. 21, pp. 48-50. Name of these tributary rivers are, theTamur, the Arun, the Sunkosi, the Tamakosi, the Dudhkosi, theBhotekosi, and the Indrawati.
220 / International Watercourses Law and Its Application in South Asia Prospects and Problems of Nepalese Water Resources / 221to southweast and 145 km from northeast to southwest. 125 TheKosi is a mighty and notorious river, which has causedtremendous loss of life and property in the past. There isevidence that nearly 200 years ago, this river flowed 120 km tothe west and joined with the Mahananda and Kankai. Thechannel of the Kosi used to pass by Purnea, an eastern city inthe Indian state of Bihar, but its present course is about 160 kmto the west of Purnea, having moved over an area of 10,500 sqkm, on which it has deposited silt and sand, also creatingswampy conditions in the old abandoned channels. 126 Due tothe deposit of a huge quantity of sediment upstream, the Kosibarrage has led to a raising of the river bed; it is suspected thatthe barrage might be washed away or destroyed in theforeseeable future.There is another option for using this resource: the constructionof an east-west link canal up to Bangladesh’s Mahananda river.This is a Bangladeshi proposal, which would providenavigation to Nepal and sufficient water for Bangladesh, andrepresents an excellent offer which would provide theopportunity for an alternative route of access to the sea. Indiawas suspicious about it, stating it could be a nexus between thetwo countries against her. In any event, it is not possible toimplement this idea without India’s co-operation, and India willnot yield on this matter, preferring to use it as a strong politicaltool by means of which she can preserve her interests regardingNepal. However, if India co-operates meaningfully, andundertakes her own programme for the Kosi high dam, it couldprove a boon for the entire region, and funds and technologymight be available to commission the project. 127 The Kosi highdam is essential to India more than to other riparian countries;in the Indian state of Bihar alone an average area of 450,000 haand a population of 21 million is affected by floods every year.125 Supra note 8, p. 48.126 A. B. Thapa, "Urgent Need for Controlling Kosi Floods" 8 Water andEnergy Commission Bulletin, (1997), pp. 7-10.127 Supra note 22, p. 379; also see supra note 12, p. 177.Erosion and floods in Nepal’s Himalayas have directconsequences in India. 128 Similar flood events took placerecently (July-August 2002), after which the Chief Minister ofthe Indian state of Bihar blamed Nepal for aggravating thesituation, a charge flatly denied by Nepalese technicians. 129The Kosi high dam is vital for the mitigation of devastation inIndia and Bangladesh, and India is approaching the GlobalInfrastructure Research Foundation of Japan for finance toimplement it. If Nepal and India agree, it could be implementedunder joint management, as was the case with the Itaipu,Yecreta and Columbia River projects. If this project can beundertaken, it alone would provide effective floodmodernisation benefits as well as the irrigation of up to 500,000ha in Nepal, even more in India, and 3,500 to 5,000 MW ofinstalled power capacity. Moreover, Bangladesh too can sharethe benefits derived from it, in terms of flood cushioning,power imports through grid transfer, and augmented water inthe dry season. The Kosi dam is one of seven Himalayanstorage projects in Nepal that Bangladesh has been insisting onfor some considerable time as an alternative means ofaugmenting the dry season flow in the Ganges. 130 It seems thatthe project will be started soon.4.10 The Tanakpur ControversyIn 1983, India completed the technical study for a 120 MWhydroelectric project on the Mahakali, to be built upstream ofthe Sarada barrage, on land which was swapped with Nepal in1920. It also planned to drop the tailrace water (volume ofwater after generating electricity) (566 cumecs) from thehydroelectric plant straight into the Sarada canal (of 326128 Supra note 17, pp. 115-116.129 Staff, “Flood Devastation”, 2 August, 2002, The Rising Nepal.130 Supra note 44, p. 178-182; also see U. K. Verma, "Socio-EconomicRenaissance through Dynamic Indo-Nepal Co-operation in WaterResources Development" (1994) in 4 Water Nepal, pp. 140-142.
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220 / <strong>International</strong> <strong>Watercourses</strong> <strong>Law</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Its</strong> <strong>Application</strong> in South Asia Prospects <strong>and</strong> Problems of Nepalese Water Resources / 221to southweast <strong>and</strong> 145 km from northeast to southwest. 125 TheKosi is a mighty <strong>and</strong> notorious river, which has causedtremendous loss of life <strong>and</strong> property in the past. There isevidence that nearly 200 years ago, this river flowed 120 km tothe west <strong>and</strong> joined with the Mahan<strong>and</strong>a <strong>and</strong> Kankai. Thechannel of the Kosi used to pass by Purnea, an eastern city inthe Indian state of Bihar, but its present course is about 160 kmto the west of Purnea, having moved over an area of 10,500 sqkm, on which it has deposited silt <strong>and</strong> s<strong>and</strong>, also creatingswampy conditions in the old ab<strong>and</strong>oned channels. 126 Due tothe deposit of a huge quantity of sediment upstream, the Kosibarrage has led to a raising of the river bed; it is suspected thatthe barrage might be washed away or destroyed in theforeseeable future.There is another option for using this resource: the constructionof an east-west link canal up to Bangladesh’s Mahan<strong>and</strong>a river.This is a Bangladeshi proposal, which would providenavigation to Nepal <strong>and</strong> sufficient water for Bangladesh, <strong>and</strong>represents an excellent offer which would provide theopportunity for an alternative route of access to the sea. Indiawas suspicious about it, stating it could be a nexus between thetwo countries against her. In any event, it is not possible toimplement this idea without India’s co-operation, <strong>and</strong> India willnot yield on this matter, preferring to use it as a strong politicaltool by means of which she can preserve her interests regardingNepal. However, if India co-operates meaningfully, <strong>and</strong>undertakes her own programme for the Kosi high dam, it couldprove a boon for the entire region, <strong>and</strong> funds <strong>and</strong> technologymight be available to commission the project. 127 The Kosi highdam is essential to India more than to other riparian countries;in the Indian state of Bihar alone an average area of 450,000 ha<strong>and</strong> a population of 21 million is affected by floods every year.125 Supra note 8, p. 48.126 A. B. Thapa, "Urgent Need for Controlling Kosi Floods" 8 Water <strong>and</strong>Energy Commission Bulletin, (1997), pp. 7-10.127 Supra note 22, p. 379; also see supra note 12, p. 177.Erosion <strong>and</strong> floods in Nepal’s Himalayas have directconsequences in India. 128 Similar flood events took placerecently (July-August 2002), after which the Chief Minister ofthe Indian state of Bihar blamed Nepal for aggravating thesituation, a charge flatly denied by Nepalese technicians. 129The Kosi high dam is vital for the mitigation of devastation inIndia <strong>and</strong> Bangladesh, <strong>and</strong> India is approaching the GlobalInfrastructure Research Foundation of Japan for finance toimplement it. If Nepal <strong>and</strong> India agree, it could be implementedunder joint management, as was the case with the Itaipu,Yecreta <strong>and</strong> Columbia River projects. If this project can beundertaken, it alone would provide effective floodmodernisation benefits as well as the irrigation of up to 500,000ha in Nepal, even more in India, <strong>and</strong> 3,500 to 5,000 MW ofinstalled power capacity. Moreover, Bangladesh too can sharethe benefits derived from it, in terms of flood cushioning,power imports through grid transfer, <strong>and</strong> augmented water inthe dry season. The Kosi dam is one of seven Himalayanstorage projects in Nepal that Bangladesh has been insisting onfor some considerable time as an alternative means ofaugmenting the dry season flow in the Ganges. 130 It seems thatthe project will be started soon.4.10 The Tanakpur ControversyIn 1983, India completed the technical study for a 120 MWhydroelectric project on the Mahakali, to be built upstream ofthe Sarada barrage, on l<strong>and</strong> which was swapped with Nepal in1920. It also planned to drop the tailrace water (volume ofwater after generating electricity) (566 cumecs) from thehydroelectric plant straight into the Sarada canal (of 326128 Supra note 17, pp. 115-116.129 Staff, “Flood Devastation”, 2 August, 2002, The Rising Nepal.130 Supra note 44, p. 178-182; also see U. K. Verma, "Socio-EconomicRenaissance through Dynamic Indo-Nepal Co-operation in WaterResources Development" (1994) in 4 Water Nepal, pp. 140-142.
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