Powering Growth: J&K Targets Major Hydropower Expansion by 2035 Amid IWT Shift.

India has accelerated work on long-delayed hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir, citing renewed momentum following the abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

In a recent reply tabled in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, the government said the Union Territory holds an estimated hydropower potential of about 18,000 megawatts (MW), of which nearly 15,000 MW has already been identified. However, only around 3,540 MW—roughly 24 per cent of the total—has been harnessed so far.

Highlighting the shift in pace, the government noted that construction activity on ongoing projects has picked up significantly in the backdrop of the treaty’s abeyance. It added that authorities are now adopting a more proactive approach to fully utilise the region’s vast hydropower capacity.