J&K Chief Secretary orders expedition in 2 hydro projects amid Pak's objections
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo reviewed the sites of two major hydroelectric power projects - Rattle and Dul Hasti - in Kishtwar district and directed officials to expedite the construction and resolve operational bottlenecks.This comes as Pakistan has raised objections to Rattle and Dul Hasti projects on several occasions, citing concerns over water flow and compliance with the Indus Waters Treaty, which has been suspended by India in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.advertisementHowever, India maintains that the projects adhere to the treaty's guidelines and are crucial for the region's energy security and economic development.
The Chief Secretary conducted a detailed review of the 850 MW Rattle Hydroelectric Power Project and the 390 MW Dul Hasti hydroelectric power station.Jammu and Kashmir's Information and PR Department shared a glimpse of the visit on X. "Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo visited Rattle (850 MW) and Dul Hasti (390 MW) hydroelectric projects to review progress and operations. Emphasised on timely completion, quality standards and resolving bottlenecks. Held review meet with NHPC, CVPPL and district officials." At the Rattle project site in Drabshalla Block, Dulloo was briefed on the project's progress. He inspected critical infrastructure, including the power intake structure, coffer dam, underground powerhouse complex, and the tail-raised tunnel.advertisementThe Chief Secretary instructed project authorities to intensify efforts for timely completion while upholding quality standards and addressing key operational issues.At the Dul Hasti Hydroelectric Power Station, Dulloo assessed the plant's operational status and held interactions with on-site officials. He urged performance enhancement and resolution of pending concerns. A high-level meeting with representatives from NHPC, CVPPL and HOPs of all Kishtwar-based power projects followed the site inspections.In addition to the ongoing Rattle and Dul Hasti projects, two more hydropower plants are also under development on the river Chenab in Kishtwar district, positioning the region as a future powerhouse of clean energy.The Chief Secretary was accompanied by senior officials, including Principal Secretary of the Power Development Department H Rajesh Prasad and Managing Director of JKPDCL, Rahul Yadav.On May 14, the Chief Secretary confirmed that the Jammu and Kashmir government was actively assessing damage and fast-tracking relief measures in the border areas affected by recent shelling from Pakistani forces. Efforts to expand safety infrastructure, including the construction of additional bunkers, were also on.With ANI inputsMust Watch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
15 minutes ago
- News18
NSA Ajit Doval Set To Visit China For SCO Meet, Cross-Border Terrorism To Be Key Agenda
Last Updated: NSA Ajit Doval's participation in the summit is a high-stakes balancing act, aiming to expose Pakistan's duplicity while testing China's neutrality National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is set to visit China for the SCO summit, a trip that will be anything but routine. India plans to leverage the recent Pahalgam terror attack to isolate Pakistan and gauge China's stance, top government sources told News18. Doval's participation in the summit is a high-stakes balancing act, aiming to expose Pakistan's duplicity while testing China's neutrality. According to top government sources, a key agenda for India at the SCO will be counterterrorism with Doval expected to confront Pakistan on cross-border terrorism following the Pahalgam attack. India is pushing for the SCO to identify Pakistan-based groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The sources, however, said the SCO may avoid antagonising Pakistan and China, leading to potentially diluted outcomes. China, aiming to normalise relations with India and resume flights, will likely avoid taking strong positions on terrorism due to its close ties with Pakistan, offering only symbolic gestures without strategic shifts, they said. The issue of Iran adds complexity, as Iran has supported India on the Pahalgam attack but is also aligned with China and Pakistan. In fact, Pakistan condemned the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif calling a high-level meeting of the national security committee on Monday (June 23). India will insist on mentioning the Pahalgam attack in the joint declaration, though China and Pakistan are likely to block this, the sources said. Additionally, India will aim to institutionalise anti-terror measures through the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), they said. They further said India is interested in the Chabahar port and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as counters to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and has already rejected Iran's mediation offer on Kashmir. Russia will quietly support India, backing its stance on terrorism given the ongoing defence and energy cooperation between the two countries, they added. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also likely to travel to China to attend a conclave of the SCO summit. It will be the first visit to China by a senior Indian minister after the ties came under severe strain following the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that began in May 2020. New Delhi and Beijing are in the process of finalising Singh's visit to China. The SCO defence ministers' conclave is scheduled to be held in Qingdao from June 25 to 27. It is learnt that Singh may hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the SCO conclave. China is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of the SCO. About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18
Time of India
26 minutes ago
- Time of India
India-Canada diplomatic reset boosts student confidence
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Popular in NRI 1. Harvard and Trump administration resume talks to resolve ongoing feud Reset in diplomatic relations between India and Canada has restored confidence among Indian students and parents, with most study-abroad platforms expecting a 20-30% increase in admissions in Canadian colleges this latest improvement in bilateral ties comes as a huge relief for students who had to stall their Canada study plans for more than a year. It also marks a blessing for those who had shortlisted the US as their only overseas study option but were forced to consider other destinations due to stricter visa and immigration rules adopted by the Donald Trump administration earlier this Sharma, a Delhi-based student, who had deferred her Fall 2024 offer from the University of Toronto due to visa uncertainty is now busy packing her bags. 'Following the improved bilateral climate, she reactivated her application and is now headed to study Computer Science this Fall,' said Adarsh Khandelwal, co-founder, Collegify, a study-abroad platform that helped with the admission.'Since the easing of tensions, we have observed a 31% increase in active Canadian applications for the Fall 2025 intake,' said permit approvals for Canada from India plunged 42% to 131,000 in 2023 from 226,000 in the year before, according to IRCC/Immigration, Refugees And Citizenship Canada/ data. Approvals fell a further 31% in Q1 2025 to 30,640 permits but experts predict a recovery in the coming Group, a study-abroad consulting firm, saw a 10-12% drop in Indian students' interest in Canadian academic institutions due to the diplomatic standoff, said founder Sanjay Laul.'There's a growing sense that it's getting harder to navigate the visa process for the US. Even students with strong academic profiles are facing unpredictability,' said Laul, adding that the current scenario is turning Canada a more attractive destination for Indian visa policies introduced by Canada and tighter measures taken by the Trump government especially on limiting foreign student enrolment had cast a cloud of doubt and uncertainty, according to Atul Verma, co-founder, Masterclass Space.'The signal of improving diplomatic ties between India and Canada comes as a welcome whiff of fresh air,' he current trends are all positive as there is an increase in student confidence and positive sentiment, noted Piyush Kumar, regional director, South Asia, IDP Education.'Canada has consistently remained a preferred destination, and this renewed engagement will contribute positively to students' plans for future intake,' said said IDP continues to see strong interest from Indian students in traditional English-speaking countries like Canada, the US, the UK and Australia.
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
World Bank and IMF climate snub 'worrying', says COP29 presidency
The hosts of the most recent UN climate talks are worried international lenders are retreating from their commitments to help boost funding for developing countries' response to global warming. Major development banks have agreed to boost climate spending and are seen as crucial in the effort to dramatically increase finance to help poorer countries build resilience to impacts and invest in renewable energy. But anxiety has grown as the Trump administration has slashed foreign aid and discouraged US-based development lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund from focussing on climate finance. Developing nations, excluding China, will need an estimated $1.3 trillion a year by 2035 in financial assistance to transition to renewable energy and climate-proof their economies from increasing weather extremes. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Laxmi Ji Idol For Wealth, Peace & Happiness Luxeartisanship Shop Now Undo Nowhere near this amount has been committed. At last year's UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, rich nations agreed to increase climate finance to $300 billion a year by 2035, an amount decried as woefully inadequate. Azerbaijan and Brazil, which is hosting this year's COP30 conference, have launched an initiative to reduce the shortfall, with the expectation of "significant" contributions from international lenders. But so far only two -- the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank -- have responded to a call to engage the initiative with ideas, said COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev. "We call on their shareholders to urgently help us to address these concerns," he told climate negotiators at a high-level summit in the German city of Bonn this week. "We fear that a complex and volatile global environment is distracting" many of those expected to play a big role in bridging the climate finance gap , he added. - A 'worrisome trend' - His team travelled to Washington in April for the IMF and World Bank's spring meetings hoping to find the same enthusiasm for climate lending they had encountered a year earlier. But instead they found institutions "very much reluctant now to talk about climate at all", said Azerbaijan's top climate negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev. This was a "worrisome trend", he said, given expectations these lenders would extend the finance needed in the absence of other sources. "They're very much needed," he said. The World Bank is directing 45 percent of its total lending to climate, as part of an action plan in place until June 2026, with the public portion of that spilt 50/50 between emissions reductions and building resilience. The United States, the World Bank's biggest shareholder, has pushed in a different direction. On the sidelines of the April spring meetings, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the bank to focus on "dependable technologies" rather than "distortionary climate finance targets." This could mean investing in gas and other fossil fuel-based energy production, he said. Under the Paris Agreement, wealthy developed countries -- those most responsible for global warming to date -- are obliged to pay climate finance to poorer nations. Other countries, most notably China, make voluntary contributions. - Money matters - Finance is a source of long-running tensions at UN climate negotiations. Donors have consistently failed to deliver on past finance pledges, and have committed well below what experts agree developing nations need to cope with the climate crisis. The issue flared up again this week in Bonn, with nations at odds over whether to debate financial commitments from rich countries during the formal meetings. European nations have also pared back their foreign aid spending in recent months, raising fears that budgets for climate finance could also face a haircut. At COP29, multilateral development banks (MDBs) led by the World Bank Group estimated they could provide $120 billion annually in climate financing to low and middle income countries, and mobilise another $65 billion from the private sector by 2030. Their estimate for high income countries was $50 billion, with another $65 billion mobilised from the private sector. Rob Moore, of policy think tank E3G, said these lenders are the largest providers of international public finance to developing countries. "Whilst they are facing difficult political headwinds in some quarters, they would be doing both themselves and their clients a disservice by disengaging on climate change," he said. The World Bank in particular has done "a huge amount of work" to align its lending with global climate goals. "If they choose to step back this would be at their own detriment, and other banks like the regionally based MDBs would likely play a bigger role in shaping the economy of the future," he said. The World Bank declined to comment on the record.
