Ravi River
The Ravi River is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were allocated to India. Subsequently, the Indus Basin Project was developed in Pakistan, which transfers waters from western rivers of the Indus system to replenish the Ravi. Many inter-basin water transfers, irrigation, hydropower and multipurpose projects have been built in India.
History
According to ancient history traced to Vedas, the Raavi River was known as IravatiThe Raavi was known as Parushni or Iravati to Indians in Vedic times and as Hydraotes to the Ancient Greeks.
Part of the battle of the ten kings was fought on a river, which according to Yaska refers to the Iravati River in the Punjab.
Geography
The Ravi River, a transboundary river of India and Pakistan, is an integral part of the Indus River Basin and forms the headwaters of the Indus basin. The waters of the Ravi River drain into the Arabian Sea through the Indus River in Pakistan. The river rises in the Bara Bhangal, District Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, India. The river drains a total catchment area of in India after flowing for a length of. Flowing westward, it is hemmed by the Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar ranges, forming a triangular zone.River course
;Source reacha major tributary of the Ravi River
The Ravi River originates in the Himalayas in the Multhan tehsil of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It follows a north-westerly course and is a perennial river. It is the smallest of the five Punjab rivers that rises from glacier fields at an elevation of, on the southern side of the Mid Himalayas. It flows through Barabhangal, Bara Bansu and Chamba districts. It flows in rapids in its initial reaches with boulders seen scattered in the bed of the river. The Ravi River in this reach flows in a gorge with a river bed slope of and is mostly fed by snow melt, as this region lies in a rain shadow. Two of its major tributaries, the Budhil and Nai or Dhona join downstream from its source. The Budhil River rises in Lahul range of hills and is sourced from the Manimahesh Kailash Peak and the Manimahesh Lake, at an elevation of, and both are Hindu pilgrimage sites. The entire length of Budhil is where it has a bed slope of. It flows through the ancient capital of Bharmwar, now known as Bharmour in Himachal Pradesh. During 1858–1860, the Raja of Bharmour had considered the Budhil valley as an excellent source of Deodar trees for supply to the British Raj. However, a part of the forest surrounding the temple was considered sacred and declared a reserved area. The second tributary, the Nai, rises at Kali Debi pass, and flows for, with a bed slope of, from its source at Trilokinath to its confluence with the Ravi. This valley was also exploited for its forest wealth during the English period.
range separates Beas and Ravi River basins from the Chenab valley
Another major tributary that joins the Ravi River, just below Bharmour, the old capital of Chamba, is the Seul River from the northern direction. The valley formed by the river was also exploited for its rich timber trees. However, the valley has large terraces, which are very fertile and known as "the garden of Chamba". crops grown here supply grains to the capital region and to Dalhousie town and its surrounding areas. One more major tributary that joins the Ravi River near Bissoli is the Siawa. This river was also exploited for its forest resources, originating from the Jammu region. The valley is also formed by another major tributary that joins Seul River, the Baira-Nalla. Its sub-basin is in the Chamba district, located above Tissa. Baira drains the southern slopes of the Pir Panjal Range. The valley has an elevation variation between and.
Tant Gari is another small tributary that rises from the subsidiary hill ranges of the Pir Panjal Range east of Bharmour. The valley formed by this stream is U-shaped with a river bed scattered with boulders and glacial morainic deposits.
;Main Ravi River
The main Ravi River flows through the base of Dalhousie hill, past the Chamba town. It is at an elevation of . It flows into the south-west, near Dalhousie, and then cuts a gorge in the Dhauladhar Range, before entering the Punjab plain near Madhopur and Pathankot. It then flows along the Indo–Pak border for before entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab River. The total length of the river is about.
Ujh River is another major tributary of the Ravi River. Its source is in the Kailash mountains at an elevation of, close to the Bhaderwah Mountains in Jammu district. After flowing for, it joins Ravi at Nainkot in Pakistan.
As the Ravi flows past Lahore in Pakistan it is called "The river of Lahore" since that city is on its eastern bank. After passing through Lahore the river takes a turn at Kamalia and then debouches into the Chenab River, south of the town of Ahmadpur Sial. On its western bank is the town of Shahdara Bagh with the tomb of Jahangir and the Tomb of Noor Jahan.
;Change of river course
According to satellite imagery studies carried out over a period of 20 years, the river coursing along the India–Pakistan border meanders substantially in the alluvial plains of the Amritsar, pathankot and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab. This has resulted in successive damage in India as a result of the river changing its course towards India. The reason attributed to this change in the course of the river is massive river training structures/bunds constructed by Pakistan in its part of the river, close to the old course of the river. The shift in the course of the river is reported to be towards India.
;River water pollution
In the trans-boundary Ravi River flowing from India to Pakistan, in urban areas of Lahore the pollution levels in the river discharge are reportedly very high, which is attributed to careless disposal of large amount of industrial and agricultural waste water and faulty drainage systems in both countries. A stretch of the Ravi River from Lahore Siphon to Baloki headworks indicates heavy contamination of the water and sediment with Cd, Cr, Pt and Cu. The river sediments are highly contaminated and have become secondary source for pollution of the river water, even though some control over unauthorised discharges into the river have been checked. Hence, measures to check metal re-mobilization from sediments into the river flows needs attention. The worst affected drainage is the Hadharaam drain, a tributary of the Ravi River. It is also a trans-border problem involving both India and Pakistan. A UNDP funded a special programme was launched in 2006 to address the issue in both countries.
Vegetation
The Ravi valley in its upper reaches has Deodar, walnut, Quercus ilex, mulberry, alder, edible pine, twisted cypress , chinar, daphne papyracea, cedrela serata, and sisso, olive and kakkar.Hydrology
The waters of the Ravi River are allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty, signed by India and Pakistan. Within India, the river is under the jurisdiction of the riparian states of Punjab and Himachal, and non-riparian states of Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan, but the management is presided by the Supreme Court of India and the Ravi Beas Tribunal, set up in 1986 for the purpose. The annual flow in India up to the final crossing point in to Pakistan is 11.52 million acre feet out of which 6.971 is available in the upstream of Madhopur headworks. Most of the water generated below the Madhopur headworks is flowing in to Pakistan from India.Pre-partition utilisation
On the Ravi River, the earliest project built was the Madhopur Headworks, in 1902. It is a run-of-the river project to divert flows through the Upper Bari Doab Canal to provide irrigation in the command area of the then unified India. Government of India has assessed the pre-partition use in India at. Prior to partition, it irrigated 335,000 hectares of land in Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Lahore districts.Hydropower
The Hydropower potential of Ravi River system has been assessed at 2294 MW, of which only 1638 MW has been harnesses cumulatively, thus leaving 656 MW wasted opportunity. The hydropower potential developed since the 1980s is through installation of Baira Suil Hydroelelectric Power Project of 198 MW capacity, the Chamera-I of 540 MW capacity commissioned in 1994, the Ranjitsagar Multipurpose Project of 600 MW capacity completed in 1999 and the Chamera-II of 300 MW capacity in the upstream of Chamera-I commissioned in 2004.Multipurpose development
The major multipurpose project built on the river is the Ranjit Sagar Dam. The left bank is in Punjab and the right bank is in Jammu and Kashmir. It is located on the main stem of the Ravi River, about upstream of Madhopur Headworks. The project is an outcome of the development plan conceived for the use of the waters of three eastern rivers allocated to India under the Indus Treaty, namely the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi, for irrigation, hydropower generation and other consumptive uses.A proposal for building a storage dam on the Ravi River was initially planned in 1912, envisaging a high dam. A committee later conducted a survey of the area, but it was not until 1954 that geologists fully inspected the project area. In 1957, a storage Dam was proposed on the Ravi River for irrigation purposes only. The power generation aspect was not considered then. It was only in 1964 that the project was conceived for multipurpose development and submitted to Government of India for approval. Finally, in April 1982, the project was approved for construction by the Government of India.
The project, as built now, has a high earth gravel shell dam with a gross irrigation potential of of land and power generation of 600 MW.
The geomorpohological setting of the river basin, which has a large number of terraces between Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges, is attributed to the truly Himalayan characteristics of the river reflecting the "cis-Himalayan tectonic; structural, lithological and climatic conditions. Obviously it is different from the Indus and Sutlej".
International water-sharing treaty
The upper reaches of the main Indus River and its tributaries lie in India whereas the lower reaches are in Pakistan. Following the partition of India in August 1947, a dispute arose between India and Pakistan on sharing of the waters of the Indus River Basin. The dispute was resolved with the intervention of the World Bank and a treaty was signed in 1960 on sharing of the Indus waters between India and Pakistan.The Indus System of Rivers comprises the three Western Rivers in the Indus, the Jhelum and Chenab together with three Eastern Rivers; the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi. To establish the ownership of these waters, an Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on 1 April 1960, under monitoring of the World Bank. The treaty, under Article 5.1, envisages the sharing of waters of the rivers Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Jhelum and Chenab which join the Indus River on its left bank in Pakistan. According to this treaty, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, which constitute the eastern rivers, are allocated for exclusive use by India before they enter Pakistan. However, a transition period of 10 years was permitted in which India was bound to supply water to Pakistan from these rivers until Pakistan was able to build the canal system for utilisation of waters of Jhelum, Chenab and the Indus itself, allocated to it under the treaty. Similarly, Pakistan has exclusive use of the Western Rivers Jhelum, Chenab and Indus but with some stipulations for development of projects on these rivers in India. Pakistan also received one-time financial compensation for the loss of water from the Eastern rivers. Since 31 March 1970, after the 10-year moratorium, India has secured full rights for use of the waters of the three rivers allocated to it. The treaty resulted in partitioning of the rivers rather than sharing of their waters.
Under this treaty, the two countries also agreed to exchange data and co-operate in matters related to the treaty. For this purpose, treaty envisaged creation of the Permanent Indus Commission, with a commissioner appointed by each country. The Indus Waters Treaty is the only International treaty that has been implemented over the last 60 years with due diligence and sincerity by both India and Pakistan, in spite of many wars fought between the two countries.
Interstate water dispute
Even prior to the partition of India in August 1947, India had developed projects on the river Ravi and Beas River system. When the treaty was under debate, India had taken advance action to develop the three rivers, which were eventually allocated to it under the treaty. According to a directive of the Government of India, planning for development of the Ravi and Beas rivers was initiated concurrently with the treaty negotiations, which involved four riparian states of Punjab, PEPSU, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir within the ambit of the already developed Bhakra Nangal Dam project on the Sutlej River. A review of the flows in the two river systems revealed that prior to partition of the country and up to the time of the signing of the Indus Treaty, of water was used by major irrigation systems such as the Upper Bari Doab Canal System and the Lower Bari Doab Canal System. The unused flow in the two river systems was assessed at, which was planned to be developed by the four states of J&K, PEPSU, Punjab and Rajasthan. However, with the merger of PEPSU with Punjab and subsequent bifurcation of Punjab into two states, a dispute arose on the allocation of Ravi and Beas waters for which a tribunal was set up under the Interstate River Water Disputes Act.As a counter claim to the exclusive claims of Punjab, Haryana claims that a small part of Haryana state lying north in Panchkula district is part of Sutlej river basin area in addition to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in India. Thus Haryana claims to be a riparian state of Indus river basin.
Following the reorganisation of the state of Punjab in 1966, Haryana State was created. This was followed by a notification by the Government of India dated 24 March 1976 allocating the surplus waters between Punjab and Haryana in due consideration of the powers conferred by Sub Section of Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966. The allocation was challenged in the Supreme Court by Haryana. A tripartite agreement followed on 31 December 1981, based on the revised mean annual flows from the flow series of 1921–60 assessed as —including prepartition use of and transit losses in the Madhopur Beas Link of —vis-a-vis the figure of assessed in earlier allocation, which was based on the flow series of 1921–45. The revised assessed surplus supplies of was allocated as:
However, the legality of this agreement was challenged by Punjab. This was followed by the Punjab accord signed by the then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, President of the Shiromani Akali Dal, on 24 July 1985. This accord stipulated that
Following the above accord, Ravi & Beas Waters Tribunal came to be set up in April 1986, in pursuance of paragraphs 9.1 & 9.2 of Punjab Settlement inter-alia to adjudicate the claims of Punjab and Haryana in Ravi-Beas waters. The Terms of Reference was set and also the time for submission of the report. The Tribunal submitted its report on 30 January 1987. However, the report was contested as Rajasthan also moved an application "seeking explanation and guidance regarding the report of this Ravi Beas waters Tribunal, 1987". The Tribunal is further examining the matter. It is yet to submit its further report to the Government on the pleas submitted by the party States and the Central Government also seeking explanation/guidance on its earlier report. In the meantime, a Presidential reference on Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 is pending before the Honorable Supreme Court. Hence, the further hearings of the Tribunal and its final report are now enjoined on the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing of the Presidential reference. The presetnly incomplete SYL link canal, to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers to transfer Haryana's share of water, is now stuck in a dispute in the Supreme Court of India due to objections by Punjab.
Punjab is contemplating to construct 206 MW Shahpurkandi dam project hydro electric project on the Ravi river between Ranjitsagar dam and Madhopur head works. This stretch of the river is forming boundary between J & K state and Punjab state. Since Punjab had unilaterally exited from the earlier water sharing agreements, J & K state refused the project construction. Also J & K state is going ahead with the construction of Ravi canal originating from Basantpur to irrigate of land in Jammu region. This canal would draw river water by pumping the water released downstream from the Rangitsagar reservoir for which J & K state is not required to take consent from Punjab as it is not bound by earlier river water sharing agreements.