Jammu, Jan 5: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Monday asserted that the pace of execution of Kishanganga and Pakal Dul hydro-electric projects (HEPs) in J&K was expected to further improve as all “restrictions” were gone with the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), having been kept in abeyance.
He was addressing a press conference organised by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Jammu, in collaboration with the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) on the Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) platform in accelerating infrastructure development in J&K.
Will the move to keep IWT in abeyance help fast-track the J&K power projects like Kishanganga and Pakal Dul, enabling their timely completion to prevent them from becoming non-viable as happened in the case of previous projects, keeping in view the fact that in the past, whether it was Kishanganga or Pakal Dul hydro-electric project (HEP) – both part of the PRAGATI portal, there had been several objections raised from time to time?
Responding to this query, Dulloo said, “Obviously, there are no restrictions. In fact, all those restrictions have now gone with the Indus Water Treaty having been kept in abeyance. So, it is expected, certainly, that the pace of execution of these projects will further improve.”
India had decided to place the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance, following the Pahalgam terror attack in April, 2025, until Pakistan stopped supporting cross-border terrorism.
When asked if the PRAGATI mechanism was also focusing on youth engagement and promoting entrepreneurship to make them partners in progress, the Chief Secretary said that the development projects could not be implemented without the involvement of the youth.
“In any sector, the development projects create jobs. Imagine how many jobs would have been created during the execution of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project…how many engineers, workmen, labour would have worked. Many spent more than thirty years of their life while executing this project. Ditto is about highway projects or the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway. Many youth are getting opportunities to work in the execution of these projects – in different capacities,” Dulloo maintained.