The Narendra Modi government informed Parliament on Thursday that India has ‘taken note’ of reports about China commencing the construction of a mega dam project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra, in Tibet.
In a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, said the project was first made public in 1986 and since then, preparations have been underway in China.
The government of India has “taken note of reports about commencement of construction of mega dam project by China on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo (upper reaches of the Brahmaputra) River in Tibet,” Singh said in the reply.
The government ‘carefully monitors’ all developments relating to the Brahmaputra River, including plans by China to develop hydropower projects, and “takes necessary measures to protect our interests, including preventive and corrective measures to safeguard life and livelihood of Indian citizens residing in the downstream areas”, he said.
Where is Yarlung Tsangbo river?
The Yarlung Tsangbo river originates in the Tibetan Himalayas and enters India as the Siang in far-eastern Arunachal Pradesh state before flowing downstream to Assam as the Brahmaputra. The river finally empties into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh, where it is called the Padma.
Various issues relating to trans-border rivers are discussed with China under the ambit of an institutionalised expert level mechanism, which was established in 2006, as well as through diplomatic channels, Singh sad in his response.
“As a lower riparian state with considerable established user rights to the waters of the trans-border rivers, the government has consistently conveyed its views and concerns to the Chinese authorities, including on the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries, and urged them to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in the upstream areas,” he added.
The need for cooperation on trans-border rivers, including the resumption of the Chinese side’s provision of hydrological data, has been highlighted by the government in several bilateral interactions with China, including during the recent visit of the external affairs minister to China from July 14-16 for the SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the minister said.