The Ganga Basin Management - The Ganga: Water Use in the Indian Subcontinent - page 250

The Commission's report in July 1942 said that the Punjab withdrawals are likely
to cause material injury to the inundation canals, particularly in September. It rec-
ommended sharing of Indus water in the winter months, but Punjab and Sind did
not accept any recommendation in spite of discussions at technical and administra-
tive levels from 1943 to 1945. Ultimately, two governments referred the matter to
his Majesty's Government in New Delhi but no final decision was taken till August,
1947, when after the Partition, eastern Punjab came within India and western Punjab
and Sind went to Pakistan.
Western districts of Punjab in Pakistan were receiving water for irrigation of the
Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi belonging to be Indus system before Independence,
though control structures were located in eastern Punjab in India. India continued to
release water, as per an interim agreement ('Stand Still Agreement') up to the end
of March 1948. As Pakistan did not show any interest in reviewing the agreement
within the period, India discontinued supply of water to the Upper Bari Doab Canal
which passes through Pakistan's western areas. Supply was resumed a few weeks
after the signing of the 'Delhi Agreement' on 4th May 1948. In it, India assured
Pakistan that it has no intention to withhold water to Pakistan, without giving it time
to tap other resources. On the other hand, Pakistan recognized the genuine anxiety
of India to discharge its obligation to develop areas of east Punjab where water ran
short and the areas were underdeveloped, compared to West Punjab. The problem
arose afterwards on the issue of availability of water, which lingered for more than
three years in spite of discussions between the two governments.
In this period, David Lilenthal, ex-Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Association
(TVA) who had earlier visited India and Pakistan, in an article in 1951 in an
American journal, suggested that instead of dealing with the issue at the political
level, it could be solved from a purely technical angle and that the World Bank
might help to provide the necessary money. It was accepted and the negotiations
commenced between the two countries with the good offices of the World Bank at
Washington in May 1952 and the Indus Water Treaty came into effect in September
1960, after more than eight years.
The treaty was signed at Karachi by Jawaharlal Nehru, India's Prime Minister
and Pakistan President, Ayub Khan. It was ratified by the two governments and the
ratifications were exchanged in Delhi in January 1961; the treaty came into force
with retrospective effect from 1st April 1960. Under the treaty, the waters in the
Indus and its tributaries were to be diverted and those that formerly flowed into
Pakistan from India were to be replaced, in part, by storage, on the western rivers
in Pakistan through connecting canals. India would have unrestricted control over
the waters of the Sutlej, the Ravi and the Beas, except during the transition period,
'when supplies to Pakistan would be continued by India according to the provisions
of the treaty.' The period commenced on 1st April 1960 and ended ten years later on
1st March 1970. India was allowed to draw water from the two Indus tributaries -
Jhelum and Chenub for irrigation of existing areas and developing 0.7 million acres
of irrigation by these rivers, subject to certain conditions, as per the treaty. India
would allow the rest of waters of these rivers to flow downward for use by Pakistan.
The provision of the 10-year 'transition period' was made to give Pakistan suffi-
cient time to build engineering diversion and storage works for the substitute water