India is taking decisive action to build the Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project, its largest hydroelectric power project, in Jammu and Kashmir. The project would have a capacity of 1856 Megawatts (MW). This significant event comes after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.
About 120 kilometers from Jammu and 130 kilometers from Srinagar, the project is located in the Ramban region on the Chenab River close to Sidhu hamlet.
As of July 29, 2025, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has formally opened the bidding process, soliciting competitive offers from around the world. The deadline for submissions is September 10, 2025.
The Sawalkote project, which was first conceived in the 1960s and was designed with assistance from the Geological Survey of India, was put on hold for more than 40 years because of logistical issues like moving local communities and an army transit camp, administrative hold-ups, environmental concerns, and Pakistan’s objections under the terms of the treaty.
About a dozen towns in the project region would be impacted, requiring hundreds of families to relocate and get compensation. The project is expected to cost approximately ₹22,704 crore (roughly 227 billion rupees) and will be finished in two phases. However, if further delays occur, some estimates indicate that costs could rise to ₹30,000 crore.
The project intends to produce almost 8,000 million units of electricity a year and consists of nine turbines housed in an underground powerhouse. Environmental permissions have just been granted for the dam and associated infrastructure, which will involve the transfer of around 3,000 acres of conserved forest and jungle land.
The project is organized according to the BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer) model, with the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation as a partner and the NHPC holding the bulk of the interests. After 40 years, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir will once again have complete responsibility over the project.
Since India is moving forward without requesting Pakistan’s no-objection certificate, which was formally required under the treaty for projects on the Chenab river, this project is seen strategically as a symbol of India’s assertion of its rights to water resources from western rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty.
The previous restriction of requiring Pakistan’s approval is lifted by India’s suspension of the treaty in April 2025 in response to terrorism-related worries, allowing India to proceed freely with this and other hydroelectric projects in the area.
As part of a larger government initiative to improve energy security, increase regional power output, and maximize the use of existing water resources, the Sawalkote project has been revived and expedited.
In order to accelerate pending bureaucratic permits and permissions, especially those pertaining to forest land and resettlement, the project has been designated as one of national importance.
This is the biggest move toward operationalizing a strategically important hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir in more than 50 years, even as experts stress the need for careful execution to minimize environmental harm, sociopolitical effects, and financial overruns.
India’s Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project is a historic infrastructure project that aims to revolutionize the power landscape of Jammu and Kashmir and strategically assert water rights in the disputed Indus basin. It was carried out without respect for Pakistan’s objections as required by the treaty after it was suspended.
With a 10-year completion timeframe, the project is expected to begin substantial construction activities after tendering in late 2025.
