The Dams India Is Building On The Chenab
India put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance on 23 April 2025, after the terror attack at Pahalgam, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. Since then it has pushed ahead on the Chenab. Four projects with 3,014 MW between them are being built, Sawalkot (1,856 MW) is awaiting final approval, and NHPC has invited tenders for an 8.7 km tunnel to carry Chenab water into the Beas. On 31 August 2026 a Court of Arbitration that India does not recognise said the treaty remains in force and ordered limits on concreting at Ratle. India rejected it the same day. The map shows India’s boundary as drawn by the Survey of India, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Indian territory under Pakistan’s illegal occupation, and India’s projects on the Chenab.
- India’s boundary is drawn as published by the Survey of India. Everything inside it is Indian territory; the green shading marks Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), under Pakistan’s illegal occupation.
- The bright blue river is the Chenab, with the Chandra and Bhaga that form it in Himachal Pradesh and the Marusudar that joins it near Kishtwar. It flows west through Jammu and Kashmir and into Pakistan, as the arrow shows. Other rivers are in darker blue.
- Every project marked is on the Chenab or the Marusudar. White circles are running, orange diamonds are being built, and the dashed diamond (Sawalkot) is planned. Each label gives the name, the capacity, the status and the type: run-of-river plants hold back only a little water; of the projects running or being built, Pakal Dul is the only storage project.
- Four projects are clustered around Kishtwar, so their names are set out on lines. The red rings mark Ratle, where a Court of Arbitration at The Hague ordered limits on construction; India does not recognise the court.
- The violet dash is the planned tunnel to carry Chenab water into the Beas basin, drawn approximately from the reported site near Koksar. India’s projects on the Jhelum and the Indus are listed in the table below. Site positions are approximate; capacities and progress are official figures.
A Treaty In Abeyance
On 23 April 2025, the day after the Pahalgam attack, India said the Indus Waters Treaty would be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. India says that position remains in force.
Why These Dams Cannot Stop The Chenab
Almost all of India’s Chenab projects are run-of-river: they pass the river’s flow through turbines and hold back only a little water to balance power through the day. Of the projects running or being built, only Pakal Dul is a storage project, holding roughly 108 to 109 million cubic metres, about 0.09 MAF. That is less than 0.1% of the 135.6 MAF the western rivers carry in a year. The projects give India more power and more control over timing, not the ability to stop the river.
Four Projects, 3,014 MW
Pakal Dul (1,000 MW) and Kiru (624 MW) are over 80% built and due by December 2026. Kwar (540 MW) is due in 2028, and Ratle (850 MW) in November 2028, according to the government’s PAIMANA progress report.
Ratle And The Court
On 31 August 2026 a Court of Arbitration said the treaty remains in force and barred India from concreting parts of the Ratle dam wall and intake above certain levels until 90 days after a Neutral Expert gives a final decision, expected in July 2027. The Ministry of External Affairs called it an “illegally-constituted and so-called Court of Arbitration” whose pronouncements “will have no effect on India’s actions”.
Water Into The Beas
A planned 8.7 km tunnel under the Pir Panjal would carry surplus water from the Chandra, a Chenab tributary, into the Beas basin, with a 19 m barrage in the Lahaul valley. NHPC is also working on a tunnel to flush silt from the Salal reservoir. Together they cost about Rs 2,600 crore.
Tulbul, Revived
The Tulbul barrage below Wular Lake on the Jhelum was abandoned in 1987 after Pakistan objected. In June 2025 the Jal Shakti Minister said the government would study its project report before deciding.
What The Treaty Split
The western rivers carry about 135.6 million acre feet a year on average, against 32.8 MAF for the eastern rivers, according to the government. The eastern rivers are India’s to use in full; on the western rivers India was limited mainly to run-of-river power.
Projects above 25 MW. The first eight are on the map; the rest are on paper or on other rivers. Capacities from NHPC, JKSPDC and SJVN; progress from the PAIMANA report, July 2026; storage from the Power Minister (June 2025), Greater Kashmir (July 2025) and the Neutral Expert’s Baglihar decision (2007). Dulhasti Stage II from the CEA and NHPC; Kirthai II’s developer from the CEA. Pondage figures for the other run-of-river projects are not published.
| Project | River | MW | Status | Type And Storage | Built By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salal | Chenab | 690 | Running | Run-of-river | NHPC |
| Baglihar | Chenab | 900 | Running | Run-of-river; pondage 32.56 million m³, about 0.03 MAF | JKSPDC |
| Dulhasti | Chenab | 390 | Running | Run-of-river | NHPC |
| Pakal Dul | Marusudar | 1,000 | Being built, 82%, due December 2026 | Storage; about 108 to 109 million m³, about 0.09 MAF | NHPC joint venture |
| Kiru | Chenab | 624 | Being built, 85.5%, due December 2026 | Run-of-river | NHPC joint venture |
| Kwar | Chenab | 540 | Being built, 35%, due March 2028 | Run-of-river | NHPC joint venture |
| Ratle | Chenab | 850 | Being built, 30%, due November 2028 | Run-of-river | NHPC joint venture |
| Sawalkot | Chenab | 1,856 | Awaiting final approval | Run-of-river, limited pondage | NHPC |
| Kirthai I | Chenab | 390 | Under examination | Run-of-river | Not stated |
| Kirthai II | Chenab | 930 | Concurred by the CEA | Run-of-river, limited pondage | NHPC joint venture (CVPPL) |
| Dulhasti Stage II | Chenab | 260 | Approved by the CEA (May 2025); environmental clearance January 2026 | Run-of-river | NHPC |
| Bursar | Marusudar | 800 | Survey and investigation | Storage (figure not published) | NHPC |
| Reoli Dugli | Chenab, Himachal | 456 | In SJVN’s pipeline | Not published | SJVN |
| Sach Khas | Chenab, Himachal | 287 | In SJVN’s pipeline | Not published | SJVN |
| Purthi | Chenab, Himachal | 234 | In SJVN’s pipeline | Not published | SJVN |
| Bardang | Chenab, Himachal | 166 | In SJVN’s pipeline | Not published | SJVN |
| Kishanganga | Kishanganga (Jhelum basin) | 330 | Running | Run-of-river | NHPC |
| Uri I | Jhelum | 480 | Running | Run-of-river | NHPC |
| Uri II | Jhelum | 240 | Running | Run-of-river | NHPC |
| Nimoo Bazgo | Indus | 45 | Running | Run-of-river | NHPC |
| Chutak | Suru (Indus basin) | 44 | Running | Run-of-river | NHPC |
Sources And MethodShow
Ministry of External Affairs: Foreign Secretary’s briefing of 23 April 2025 (treaty in abeyance); statements of 16 May 2026 and 31 August 2026 rejecting the Court of Arbitration (as reported by ANI and The Federal). Permanent Court of Arbitration press release, Indus Waters Western Rivers Arbitration, 31 August 2026 (award and interim measures on Ratle). Lok Sabha, unstarred question 42, 22 November 2012 (western rivers 135.6 MAF, eastern rivers 32.8 MAF). NHPC project pages (capacities and status of Salal, Dulhasti, Uri I and II, Kishanganga, Nimoo Bazgo, Chutak, Ratle, Pakal Dul, Kiru, Kwar, Sawalkot). JKSPDC and Tractebel (Baglihar, 900 MW). Government of India PAIMANA progress report, as reported by the Daily Excelsior, 5 July 2026 (physical progress and target dates). Daily Excelsior, 3 September 2026 (Sawalkot approvals). Swarajya, 22 May 2026, Outlook India, 21 July 2026, and NHPC’s tender notice (Chenab-Beas link tunnel and Salal bypass tunnel). CEA approval record and NHPC (Dulhasti Stage II; Kirthai II developer). ThePrint, 26 June 2025 (Jal Shakti Minister on the Tulbul project). Power Minister Manohar Lal’s briefing of 10 June 2025, as reported by The Indian Express (Pakal Dul storage of about 109 million cubic metres, and Greater Kashmir, 13 July 2025, about 108 million cubic metres; Sawalkot, Kirthai and Dulhasti Stage II run-of-river; Bursar storage). Neutral Expert’s Baglihar decision, 12 February 2007 (pondage of 32.56 million cubic metres). Lok Sabha answer of the Ministry of Power, December 2025 (the four projects under construction). SJVN Annual Report 2025-26 (Reoli Dugli, Sach Khas, Purthi, Bardang). MAF figures converted at 1 MAF = 1,233.5 million cubic metres. Boundary: Survey of India via DataMeet; UT line from the Survey of India map of 2 November 2019 via DataMeet. PoK: Natural Earth, approximate. Rivers: Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 2 November 2026. Project sites: OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, approximate; Sawalkot and Tulbul placed at the nearest named point.