By Suchitra Mukherjee

New Delhi [India], May 9 (ANI): Indian government has decided to divert water meant for Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty for use in four Indian states, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi. The Jal Shakti Ministry is working on infrastructure development at a war-footing level to implement this decision, according to sources.

The ministry aims to ensure that not a single drop of water meant for Pakistan goes to waste. Instead, it will be utilized to meet the water needs of four states--Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi. These states will benefit from the diverted water, addressing their water shortages, sources added.

This initiative aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent statement that 'Desh ka pani desh ke haq me bahega ('India's water will flow in India's favor')'. The Jal Shakti Ministry has been working towards this goal under the guidance and supervision of Home Minister Amit Shah.

Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil held a meeting on Friday at the Jal Shakti Ministry to review and discuss the Indus Water Treaty with officials. The meeting, which started around 4 PM, lasted for an hour. Important discussions took place, and war-footing level work is underway, sources said.

The Jal Shakti Ministry will hold further meetings to discuss the issue soon, according to sources.

On April 25, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil stated that India won't give Pakistan even a single drop of water, adding that the decision to scrap the Indus Water Treaty will be implemented 100 percent. He said that important discussions took place in the meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

CR Patil mentioned that Amit Shah suggested several important points regarding this, which will be implemented soon. He further stated that the implementation will be done step by step.

A crucial meeting regarding the Indus Water Treaty was held at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence on April 25. The meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, and other senior government officials. The meeting lasted around two hours.

India has formally notified Pakistan in writing about the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. Secretary of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Devashree Mukherjee, has informed the Secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources, Syed Ali Murtaza, about this decision of the Indian government through a letter. India has issued a notice for changes in the treaty. The letter states that the Indian government has given notice to the Pakistani government for amendments to the treaty.

The notice mentions that several fundamental aspects of the treaty have changed and require reconsideration. Population changes, the development of clean energy, and various factors related to water distribution under the treaty have occurred. Any treaty should be implemented in good faith, but Pakistan is promoting cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

These communications cited fundamental changes in the circumstances that have taken place since the treaty was executed, requiring a reassessment of obligations under the various articles of the treaty, read with its annexures.

These changes include significantly altered population demographics, the need to accelerate the development of clean energy, and other changes in the assumptions underlying the sharing of waters under the treaty. The obligation to honor a treaty in good faith is fundamental. However, what we have seen instead is sustained cross-border terrorism by Pakistan targeting the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The resulting security uncertainties have directly impeded India's full utilization of its rights under the treaty. Furthermore, apart from other breaches committed by Pakistan, it has refused to respond to India's request to enter into negotiations as envisaged under the treaty and is thus in breach of the treaty.

The Indus Waters Treaty governs the use and distribution of the waters of the six rivers of the Indus basin--Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej--between India and Pakistan. Under this treaty, the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) are allocated to Pakistan, while the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) are allocated to India.

Earlier today, World Bank President Ajay Banga clarified that the organization's role in the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty remains limited to that of a facilitator, dismissing speculation about its potential intervention in resolving the matter.

'We have no role to play beyond a facilitator. There's a lot of speculation in the media about how the World Bank will step in and fix the problem, but it's all bunk. The World Bank's role is merely as a facilitator,' said World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated after the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of Wednesday, targeting terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) as a retaliatory response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)