Description

In its report to the Lok Sabha, a parliamentary panel stated that India does not have a water treaty with China. However, both countries have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on the rivers Brahmaputra and Sutlej. MoUs on the rivers Brahmaputra and Sutlej will be in effect for five years. MoUs are renewed on a regular basis.

According to the panel, an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) exists between India and China to ensure cooperation in the provision of hydrological data by China during flood season, emergency management, and other trans-border river issues. The panel expressed satisfaction with China's payment-based sharing of hydrological data from the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers. It was only in the year 2017 that it failed to provide data during the 73-day Doklam standoff between the two countries.

The panel expressed concern about China's run-of-the-river projects, stating that such projects could not result in water diversion, but that water could be stored in poundages and released for running turbines. This, in turn, may cause diurnal variations in downstream flow, influencing water flow in the Brahmaputra River. As a result, the committee recommends that India constantly monitor Chinese actions to ensure that no major interventions on the Brahmaputra River occur.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Chinese authorities have approved three hydropower projects on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra River in Tibet Autonomous Region. Aside from that, in October 2015, Chinese authorities declared a hydropower project at Zangmu operational.

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