The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) has supported India's right to divert water from a Neelum River tributary for its 330MW Kishanganga hydropower project.
This move comes after Pakistan sought the PCA to resolve the conflict under provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty in 2010.
Pakistan feared that the Indian Kishanganga hydroelectric project might reduce the capacity of its Neelum-Jhelum plant by diverting water, reported the HydroWorld.com.
As per the Indus Waters Treaty, the country that completes its project first will have priority rights to the river’s waters.
National Hydroelectric Power Corporation of India had begun the development of the Kishanganga plant in 2006, before awarding contracts for its construction to the HCC-Halcrow Consortium in 2009.
Meanwhile, the Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan has advanced in its plans to develop the 969MW Neelum-Jhelum hydropower plant, which would also be located downstream from the Kishanganga on the same river system.