J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday underlined the implications of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) on river-rich Jammu & Kashmir, which binds its ability to tap the huge hydel power potential primarily owing to storage constraints.
Because of the impediments positioned by the treaty, Chief Minister said J&K pays a heavy price in peak winter months when power generation is lowest and it causes hardship to its people.
The Chief Minister, who also administratively holds the charge of the Power portfolio, made this statement while speaking at the Conference of Power Ministers of States & UT at Delhi.
The Chief Minister brought attention to the limiting clauses in the Indus Water Treaty that limit Jammu & Kashmir from realizing its complete hydel potential by allowing only run-of-the-river projects.
"Hydel power is the only viable source of energy for J&K. The State has to import power from other States due to which the local economy suffers a lot. For this, J&K would need special consideration from the central government in the form of viability gap funding, equity assistance, while tapping the undiscovered hydro-energy potential of the State," he added, saying that the aid would not only contribute to the energy needs of this region but also to the national clean energy goals.
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Chief Minister also sought Power Ministry to explore gap funding for the implementation of the electric infra works under the RDSS.
During the session on solar power potential and green energy, Chief Minister dwelled upon the solar power energy being generated in Ladakh and said that J&K would like to procure extra energy the UT is able to generate.
Earlier, Omar Abdullah arrived in Delhi on Monday evening to participate in the Conference of Power Minister of States & UTs at India International Convention & Expo Centre Dwarka.
He kept attending all the technical sessions throughout the day and presented the perspective of the Jammu and Kashmir government during the conference.
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