New Delhi: NHPC Ltd has roped in Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd to build desilting infrastructure at Jammu and Kashmir's Salal Dam as part of its plan to flush sediments from hydropower projects on rivers flowing into Pakistan, according to two people aware of the matter.
The desilting push comes as several hydropower projects in the border state are releasing excess water into Pakistan amid heavy south-west monsoon rains, over a year after India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.
“Undersluices at Salal were not operational; rather, they were blocked by concrete due to restrictions under the IWT. So, now undersluices would be developed, and the gate operation room would also be made operational,” said the first official on the condition of anonymity, adding that HCC has emerged as the L1 bidder.
An undersluice, or scouring sluice, is a gated opening near the riverbed in a dam or barrage wall, located on the same side as the canal's head regulator, designed to flush riverbed silt, maintain a clear water channel, and manage low-level floods.
The 690-megawatt Salal Hydroelectric Power Station, a run-of-the-river project on the Chenab River, initially included six undersluices and six silt excluder gates to facilitate sediment management.
However, under the provisions of the India-Pakistan water-sharing deal signed in 1960 and a subsequent 1978 agreement, the desilting infrastructure was blocked and rendered inoperable. As a result, silt accumulated for decades, severely impairing the reservoir's storage and operational efficiency.
Salal is the country's closest hydropower project to Pakistan and the first to be built under the now-in-abeyance treaty.
Plans to desilt all hydropower projects covered by the treaty were initiated in May 2025, and dredging-based flushing has been underway at the Salal project.
However, undersluices are now needed for more effective desilting, as the exercise is planned to become a regular maintenance activity, the second person added on condition of anonymity.
Mint's queries emailed to NHPC and HCC remained unanswered.
Indus water-utilization push
The move is part of the government's broader push to accelerate hydropower development in the region and gain a strategic edge after the country placed the treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed.
Mint reported on 18 June that India has begun work on three hydropower projects in the state, with a combined investment of around $3 billion.
The three projects—two on the Chenab River and one on the Jhelum—have a total capacity of 2.35 gigawatts (GW), enough to meet the peak power needs of about 2.5 million consumers, according to three people aware of the development.
“Releasing of excess water is required and would anyway take place as it cannot be stored. But desilting is the need of the hour, as power generation is also affected," said Abhay Kumar Singh, president, Indian National Hydropower Association and former chairman and managing director of NHPC.
“The fact that the IWT is in abeyance gives India the benefit to utilize the hydro potential in the state to the fullest. It may take up to one and a half years for setting up undersluices and the required infrastructure,” he added.
Inadequate infrastructure
The World Bank-brokered water-sharing pact between India and Pakistan governs the use of the Indus river system, which originates in Tibet and flows through India into Pakistan.
It capped India's storage capacity on these rivers at 3.6 million acre-feet. However, amid objections from Pakistan and challenges in project completion, New Delhi could not develop sufficient infrastructure to reach the permitted 3.6 maf capacity.
In 2025, the Indian government directed the country's largest hydropower generator to develop new projects with higher storage capacity.