EAC clears Sawalkote hydro project on Chenab

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has reiterated its earlier recommendation and approved the Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project for prior environmental clearance. The decision was recorded in the minutes of the EAC meeting held on September 26, 2025.

The 1,856 MW project, to be developed on the Chenab River in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, is the first major hydropower project on the Indus basin to receive clearance after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on April 23, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack. Designed as a run-of-the-river scheme, the project aims to harness the Chenab’s flow for power generation.

The Sawalkote project was first granted environmental clearance in 2017 when it was led by the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation (JKPDC). In 2021, JKPDC signed an agreement with NHPC Ltd to construct and operate the project until 2061. Although the project received its initial environmental nod, it was delayed due to the absence of a forest clearance. The first stage of forest clearance was issued in September 2023, as per public records.

Approvals from the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Water Commission were secured in July 2025. Public hearings under the Forest Rights Act were completed between December 2022 and February 2023.

The Sawalkote project will feature a 192.5-metre-high Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) gravity dam with six power units of 225 MW and one unit of 56 MW in the first stage, followed by two more 225 MW units in the second stage. The estimated cost has risen from Rs 22,000 crore to Rs 31,380 crore due to delays and inflation. It is expected to generate about 8,000 million units of electricity annually.

The project will occupy around 1,401 hectares, including 847 hectares of forest land, with a reservoir area of nearly 1,159 hectares. Construction will affect 13 villages across Ramban and Gool Sangaldan tehsils, displacing 1,477 families. Around Rs 190 crore has been allocated for resettlement and rehabilitation.

The Sawalkote development also reflects India’s effort to fully utilise its share of the western rivers under the suspended IWT. While the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Home Affairs have emphasised its strategic value, experts caution that the cumulative environmental impacts of multiple projects on the Chenab require further study. The river already hosts the Dulhasti, Baglihar, and Salal hydropower plants, creating a dense cascade of large dams that heighten sedimentation and slope stability risks.