India fast-tracks J&K hydropower projects

India has moved to speed up a cluster of hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir as New Delhi keeps the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan “in abeyance,” according to Indian media reports, official project reviews and recent statements from the foreign ministry. The projects most often cited are Pakal Dul, Kiru, Kwar and Ratle, all in the Chenab basin. Together, they account for 3,014 megawatts of planned capacity, according to a Reuters report published on May 6, 2025 and carried by Yahoo News. January 2026 reporting by News18 said Indian officials had been asked to commission Pakal Dul and Kiru by December 2026, complete Kwar by March 2028 and accelerate work on Ratle. A January 4, 2026 Press Information Bureau release separately said Power Minister Manohar Lal reviewed Salal, Sawalkot and Ratle projects in Jammu and Kashmir, directed NHPC to expedite sediment-removal operations at Salal and laid the foundation stone for dam concreting works at Ratle. (yahoo.com) May 16, 2026 brought the latest formal treaty position. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India “categorically rejects” a reported Court of Arbitration award on pondage at Indian hydropower projects and that India’s decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance “remains in force,” according to The Hindu. (news18.com) ### Which projects are being pushed ahead? The four projects named in the May 2025 Reuters report were Pakal Dul at 1,000 MW, Kiru at 624 MW, Kwar at 540 MW and Ratle at 850 MW. Reuters said they are all on the Chenab River system and that the power ministry had asked authorities to clear hurdles to speed construction. News18’s January 6, 2026 report described the same four projects as the core of the latest push and said the Centre had set specific deadlines for Pakal Dul, Kiru and Kwar while seeking faster construction at Ratle. (thehindu.com) The report said Power Minister Manohar Lal’s two-day inspection in Jammu and Kashmir preceded those directions. (yahoo.com) ### What has the government said on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir? January 4, 2026 is the clearest official checkpoint. The Press Information Bureau said Manohar Lal, accompanied by Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal, reviewed NHPC hydroelectric projects in Reasi, Ramban and Kishtwar districts. The release said he directed NHPC to speed sediment removal at Salal and visited Ratle, where he laid the foundation stone for dam concreting works. (news18.com) March 28, 2026 added a second public statement from within Jammu and Kashmir. The Times of India reported that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the power portfolio, told the Assembly that work on ongoing hydel projects had accelerated after the Centre put the treaty in abeyance and that the process of identifying storage projects had also been expedited. (news18.com) ### How does the treaty language connect to these projects? May 16, 2026 is the most recent official marker. The Hindu reported that the external affairs ministry said India did not recognise the Court of Arbitration as legitimately constituted and that proceedings or decisions by that body were “null and void.” The same report said Jaiswal stated that India’s decision to hold the treaty in abeyance remained in force. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) January 9, 2026 and May 29, 2025 briefings on the foreign ministry website used similar language. In those transcripts, the spokesperson said the treaty was being kept in abeyance and would remain so until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ended support for cross-border terrorism. ### What can be verified from earlier project records? (thehindu.com) December 19, 2023 parliamentary material released through the Press Information Bureau said four hydroelectric projects launched in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019 were Kiru, Ratle, Kwar and Karnah, with Kiru at 624 MW, Ratle at 850 MW and Kwar at 540 MW. The same document listed then-current physical progress figures for Kiru, Ratle and Kwar. (mea.gov.in) January 29, 2024 brought a Ratle construction milestone. A PIB release said the Chenab River had been diverted through tunnels at the 850 MW Ratle project in Kishtwar district on January 27, 2024, a step the government said would expedite dam construction. The next hard markers are likely to be commissioning updates for Pakal Dul and Kiru, construction milestones at Ratle and Kwar, and any new Ministry of External Affairs statement or court-related filing tied to the Indus Waters Treaty. (pib.gov.in) (news18.com) (pib.gov.in)