September,26,2016:

PIL seeks to declare 'Indus Waters Treaty' as unconstitutional

Indicating desire of taking action against Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has today said that  ‘blood & water can’t flow together at the same time.’

He was Chairing a meeting with Water Ministry officials on Indus Waters Treaty.

In the aftermath of the Uri attack in J&K that left our 19 soldiers dead, a demand has grown that the Government should scrap the water distribution Treaty to mount pressure on that Pakistan.

Meanwhile a Public Interest Litigation has been filed before Supreme Court of India seeking declaration of the Indus Water Treaty entered between India—Pakistan as unconstitutional.

However the Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant an urgent hearing on the PIL.

We do not find any urgency in the matter. Let the Petition come up for hearing in due course,” ruled the Bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A M Khanwilkar said.

The PIL has been filed by Advocate M L Sharma, in his personal capacity on the issue.

He had sought urgent hearing in the matter pleading that the treaty was unconstitutional because it was not signed as per the scheme of our constitution and hence it should be declared “void ab initio.”

Bench retorts, “Keep politics aside. The matter can come for hearing in due course.”

What is  Indus Waters Treaty ?

The Indus Waters Treaty is a bilateral Water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan.

It was brokered by the World Bank (earlier known as International Bank for Reconstruction and Development). 

The treaty was signed and agreed in Karachi on 19th September, 1960 by Jawaharlal Nehru Prime Minister of India and Ayub Khan President of Pakistan .

According to this Treaty, India got control over the three "eastern" rivers — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej, while Pakistan got control over the three "western" rivers — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum.

The treaty was a result of Pakistani fear that, since the source rivers of the Indus basin were in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan, especially at times of war.

India and Pakistan accepted the rights and obligations of each other on the use of water of Indus Basin through the Indus Water Treaty.

This treaty was subsequently ratified by two Governments and the ratification was exchanged in New Delhi in the January of 1961.

Historically the Indus Waters Treaty considered a landmark step in promoting trust and understanding between the people of the two countries

Apart from Indus Waters Treaty, three other agreements were signed in 1960.

The first agreement was related to the establishment of an Indus Basin Development Fund (IBDF) of $ 894 million. Out of the total, $ 640 was contributed by friendly countries, such as Australia, Canada, West Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The IBDF agreement was signed between Pakistan and aforementioned friendly countries. To facilitate the agreement, India also contributed $ 174 million, and $ 80 million was given from the proceeds of the World Bank loan to Pakistan. The fund was mainly collected for the transfer of infrastructure and construction of replacement works on western rivers.
 The second agreement was signed between Pakistan and the World Bank for a loan of $ 90 million.
The last agreement covered a loan of $ 70 million from the US Development Loan Fund. 5 The Indus Water Treaty addressed both the technical and financial concerns of each side and included a timeline for transition. It was retroactive from 1 April, 1960.

Indus Waters Treaty, 1960

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