Jammu, Feb 22: Decades after key sediment-management facilities were rendered inoperable under the Indus Waters Treaty, the Salal power station reservoir has lost up to 96 per cent of its storage, prompting NHPC to implement a silt management plan to ensure sustained efficiency.
Originally, the NHPC-run Salal concrete dam had six under-sluices and six silt-excluder gates to manage sediment. Following the 1960 treaty and a 1978 agreement, the under-sluices were permanently plugged, and silt-excluder gates were prohibited. “In the absence of any sediment-management facilities, silt started accumulating in the reservoir thereafter,” an official said. The reservoir’s capacity has fallen from 284 million cubic metres (MCM) to just 9.91 MCM, according to a May 2025 bathymetric survey.
Officials said a three-pronged plan is now underway for the first time after the treaty’s suspension last year. Salal Power Station Executive Director Anish Gouraha told PTI, “We are working under an effective silt management plan to ensure operational effectiveness. The plan focuses on dredging, flushing, and under-sluicing to reduce sedimentation and improve power generation efficiency.”
To address the crisis, Reach Dredging Limited (RDL), Kolkata, received a no-objection certificate (NOC) for desilting the reservoir, with work starting on November 25, 2025. RDL, a company specialising in river engineering, land reclamation, and portable dredgers, has permission to dispose of 100,000 metric tonnes (MT) of silt. “So far, 1,77,802 MT has been dredged, and 68,490 MT disposed of,” officials added.
A second NOC was issued on February 17 to Dharti Dredging and Infrastructure Limited, Mumbai, with statutory clearances pending before work begins. Additionally, a tender floated on February 9 aims to make the permanently plugged under-sluices functional, with bid submissions closing on March 23.
Officials said these ongoing and proposed measures aim to restore at least partial storage capacity and improve long-term operational viability. Flushing operations are being carried out periodically to minimize sediment build-up, while under-sluicing is part of the broader sediment management strategy, with bids currently under evaluation.
The NHPC-run Salal Hydroelectric Project is a 690 MW run-of-the-river plant on the Chenab River in Reasi district, supplying power to the Northern Grid, including Jammu and Kashmir. Salal, India’s first hydropower project under the treaty, has a 130-metre-high dam and a 22-kilometre-long reservoir, which has faced heavy sediment inflows due to fragile geology, steep slopes, monsoon rains, and seismic activity.
Union Minister of Power and Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on January 4 directed sediment removal at Salal to ensure maximum water utilisation following the treaty’s abeyance with Pakistan.
