NEW DELHI: The Union authorities has “taken notice” of China’s announcement of a mega dam mission on the decrease reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo (higher reaches of the Brahmaputra) river within the Tibet Autonomous Area, the Centre knowledgeable Parliament on Thursday. Minister of State for Exterior Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha additionally mentioned varied points referring to trans-border rivers are mentioned with China underneath the ambit of an “institutionalised Professional Degree Mechanism,” which was established in 2006, in addition to by diplomatic channels.
The ministry was requested whether or not China’s resolution to assemble a hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra river, which flows into India and Bangladesh, has raised considerations about its potential influence on hundreds of thousands of individuals dwelling downstream. “The Authorities of India has taken notice of China’s announcement of a mega dam mission authorised on the decrease reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo (higher reaches of the Brahmaputra) River within the Tibet Autonomous Area,” he mentioned.
As a decrease riparian state with appreciable established consumer rights to the waters of the transborder rivers, the federal government has “constantly conveyed its views and considerations to the Chinese language authorities,” and has urged them to make sure that the pursuits of downstream states are “not harmed by any actions in upstream areas,” the minister mentioned.
“Following the current announcement by China of the mega dam mission, we’ve amplified our considerations and demarched them on 30 December 2024, together with on the necessity for transparency and session with downstream nations,” he mentioned.
The difficulty was additionally raised in the course of the go to of Overseas Secretary Vikram Misri to Beijing for a gathering of the Overseas Secretary-Vice Overseas Minister mechanism, he mentioned. In the course of the go to, the 2 nations agreed to carry an early assembly of the Professional Degree Mechanism to debate resumption of provision of hydrological knowledge and different cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers, Singh mentioned in his response.
The ministry was additionally requested concerning the measures India is taking to have interaction with China to deal with ecological and water move stability within the northeastern states and to make sure adherence to worldwide water-sharing rules.
“Authorities of India intends to stay engaged with China on the difficulty of trans-border rivers to safeguard our pursuits. Authorities fastidiously screens all developments referring to the Brahmaputra river, together with plans by China to develop hydropower tasks, and takes crucial measures to guard our pursuits, together with preventive and corrective measures to safeguard life and livelihood of Indian residents residing in downstream areas,” he added.
