Reports of China building a 'mega dam' across the lower reaches of the Tsangpo River - which becomes the Brahmaputra when it flows into India - have been noted, the government told Parliament Thursday, the final day of a stormy monsoon session and echoing remarks made in February,
The issue was discussed when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Delhi earlier this week, junior Foreign Minister Kirti Singh said.
Mr Singh told Parliament China made its 'mega dam' idea public back in 1986 and, consequently, the government has been monitoring all related developments, including Beijing's plans to develop hydropower projects, and takes measures to protect Indian interests.
These include measures to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of Indian in downstream areas.
The government also stressed the need for up-to-date data information about the Tsangpo/Brahmaputra - critical for flood planning - and referred to the lapse of a 2002 MoU with China.
This was renewed in 2008, 2013, and 2018, but the Chinese did not provide information in 2017. Beijing later blamed technical reasons for not sharing data.
The need for co-operation when dealing with cross-border rivers and resumption of provision of hydrological data has been highlighted by in several bilateral interactions with China, including when Mr Jaishankar visited in July, for a regional security summit, the government said.
If built as planned, the Brahmaputra dam could be one of the biggest in the world (File).
Last month Chinese state media said construction on the dam had begun.
Beijing had linked the project to its carbon neutrality targets and economic goals, and state news agency Xinhua said the electricity generated would be distributed across the country.
Once built, the dam could dwarf the record-breaking Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze in central China - and have a serious impact on millions of people downstream in India and Bangladesh.
READ | China Begins Construction Of Mega-Dam On Brahmaputra River In Tibet
The project will entail constructing five hydropower stations, with the total investment estimated to be around 1.2 trillion yuan ($167.1 billion), Xinhua said.
In January India raised its concerns with China and urged it to "ensure interests of the downstream states of the Brahmaputra are not harmed by activities in upstream areas".
In December, Beijing said the project would not have any "negative impact" downstream, adding that China "will also maintain communication with countries at the lower reaches" of the river.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, whose state the river flows through, played down fears China's dam would cause the river to dry up.
READ | "2 Views On China's Brahmaputra Mega Dam": Assam Chief Minister
"I am not immediately worried because Brahmaputra is a mighty river," he said, "Brahmaputra gets most of its waters from Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, and the rainwater and other forms of water from our state itself."
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
