Can Pakistan build dams on Ravi, Sutlej and Beas to contain floods?

ISLAMABAD: As torrential rains in Pakistan and the release of water from India have caused severe flooding in Punjab, submerging villages and forcing authorities to breach smaller reservoirs, headworks and barrages to prevent structural collapse, this has revived debate on social media about Pakistan’s failure to build major water reservoirs and dams on Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, with some arguing that large dams could have mitigated the floods.

Government leaders have also echoed the need for new storage projects.

However, experts point out that Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, the rivers currently flooding parts of Punjab, are not legally available for Pakistan to build large dams and reservoirs.

They said that under the Indus Waters Treaty, signed between Pakistan and India, full rights over the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) rest with India, while Pakistan has unrestricted rights over the use of the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab).

“Pakistan cannot construct dams on these rivers, as they belong to India under the treaty. Any project that obstructs their flow is legally prohibited,” said water expert Arshad H. Abbasi, though he noted that run-of-the-river projects could be built on the eastern rivers.

Experts said that settlements built along riverbeds, unplanned urbanisation and encroachment have worsened flood impacts.

“Even without Indian releases, monsoon rains can trigger flooding if river channels are obstructed,” Abbasi said.

Pakistan’s current water storage capacity is only 13 to 14 million acre-feet — barely 30 days’ worth, compared to the international standard of 120 days. To address the gap, the government is working on mega projects such as Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams on the western rivers.

Analyst Arif Anwar said that India has already constructed massive reservoirs on its rivers, storing large volumes but also forced to release water during peak flows.

“Pakistan too has the right to build major reservoirs on its western rivers. The real hurdles are political will and financing,” he said.

Arif Anwar pointed out that although the recent flooding was caused by water in the eastern rivers, “we must remember that the 2010 and 2022 floods resulted from heavy rains and cloudbursts in the upper catchments of our western rivers. If there had been a major reservoir or dam along their course, the destruction might not have been so severe.”

He said that the current debate stems from the same concern, but the public is generally unaware of the Indus Waters Treaty and its details, which leads to confusion over the facts.

Earlier this year, India announced a unilateral suspension of the treaty, a move Pakistan rejected as a violation of international law.

Earlier, India informed Pakistan of water releases through diplomatic channels instead of the Permanent Indus Commission.

Experts said that such unilateral steps cannot render the treaty ineffective, as formal mechanisms for dispute resolution still exist.

Some argued that if India continues to build projects on Pakistan’s share of the rivers, then Pakistan should also construct reservoirs on India’s allocated rivers. However, diplomatic officials cautioned that such actions would effectively dismantle the Indus Waters Treaty and give India grounds to terminate it unilaterally — something not possible at present, as the Court of Arbitration  has already ruled against India’