The Government of India is aware of the construction activity at Zangmu on the main Yarlung Zangbo River in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
Currently, the development undertaken by China on River Brahmaputra is mainly run of the river projects catering to the local irrigation and electricity requirements in the TAR.
If the water from the water resources projects in Tibet is diverted into some other basin in China then it may affect the quantity of flow of water in downstream areas in India during the lean season, said Minister for Water Resources, Salman Khursid in a Lok Sabha reply.
However, if the water is released back into the same river after generation of electricity, the affect on flows of water downstream in India may not be significant, he said.
The issue of Chinese activities on River Tsangpo, called Brahmaputra in India, impacting the flow of water in the downstream areas has been taken up with the Chinese authorities at the highest level.
The Chinese side has categorically denied that it is constructing a dam on the River Brahmaputra for the purpose of water diversion.
During the visit of the External Affairs Minister’s Beijing visit, the Chinese Foreign Minister shared the information about construction activity at the Zangmu hydropower station.
He stated that Zangmu was a small project with its main function being generation of power and not water supply. He also stated that the power station would not store and regulate the volume of water and this would not have an adverse impact on the downstream areas.
The Government of India keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India’s national interest and takes all necessary measure to safeguard it, Khursid said.
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