J&K CM Announces Hydropower Capacity Tripling to 11,000 MW by 2035

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced in the J&K Legislative Assembly that the Union Territory aims to triple its installed hydropower capacity from approximately 3,540 MW to around 11,000 MW by 2035. The ambitious target was directly tied to India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty in April 2025 following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor: with the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) now available for unrestricted development, J&K can unlock the full hydropower potential previously restricted under the treaty. The announcement coincided with the NHPC-JKSPDCL agreement to develop two new projects — Uri-I Stage-II (240 MW) and Dulhasti Stage-II (260 MW) on a BOOT basis — signed the previous day.