Union Minister Manohar Lal said that plans were being made to divert the river water till now lost to Pakistan to meet the rising demands of Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan over the next few years.
Speaking at the unveiling of Delhi's drainage master plan on September 20, 2025, the Union Minister said the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan after the terror attacks in Pahalgam in May proved "aapda mein avsar (blessing in disguise)". The minister said, "You know about Operation Sindoor and how the treaty on sharing the water of the Indus River was suspended by India, so water stopped flowing to Pakistan. A very large quantity of water that was being discharged towards Pakistan will now be channelled and supplied to Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan in the coming year or a half."
India decided to suspend the decades-old treaty almost immediately in the aftermath of the killing of 26 people, mostly tourists, in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. The decision to suspend the treaty was seen as one of the most stringent actions taken against Pakistan. Since 1960, the treaty has survived three wars and numerous terror attacks orchestrated by groups based in Pakistan.
The treaty was signed between India and Pakistan for the sharing of waters of the Indus Basin. Under the treaty, the total waters of the eastern rivers—Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi—were allocated to India for unrestricted use, while the waters of the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—were allocated largely to Pakistan. Under the treaty, however, India is permitted to use the water of the western rivers for domestic use, irrigation, and generation of hydroelectric power, a potential it never completely harnessed.
Though India has the right to create water storage capacity up to 3.6 million acre-feet on the western rivers under the treaty, not enough storage capacity has been created. Besides, out of an estimated power potential of about 20,000 MW that can be harnessed from power projects on these western rivers, only 3,482 MW capacity has been constructed.
While the water from the western rivers in the region was halted in May, the natural channel flow continued. To stop the flow to Pakistan and use the water, India will have to increase its water storage capacity and work on the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects.
