Jammu: Decades after key sediment-management facilities were rendered inoperable under the Indus Waters Treaty, the reservoir of the Salal power station has suffered a dramatic loss of storage of up to 96 per cent, prompting NHPC to launch a silt management plan at the facility to ensure sustained operational efficiency.
According to official documents, the NHPC-run Salal concrete dam was originally designed with six under-sluices (gates located at the base of a dam) and six silt-excluder gates (silt-stopping structures) to manage sediment. However, following the treaty signed in 1960 and a subsequent agreement in 1978, the six under-sluices were permanently plugged, and operation of the silt-excluder gates was prohibited, it said.
“In the absence of any sediment-management facilities, silt started accumulating in the reservoir thereafter,” an official said.
As a result, the reservoir’s original storage capacity of 284 million cubic metres (MCM) has dwindled to just 9.91 MCM, as recorded in a bathymetric survey conducted in May 2025, it added.
Officials said that a three-pronged plan is being undertaken for the first time after the suspension of the treaty last year.
“We are working under an effective silt management plan to ensure the operational effectiveness of the power station. One of the activities under this is dredging, through which we are trying to remove silt from the dam,” Salal Power Station Executive Director Anish Gouraha told PTI.
He said that the plan focuses on three key measures – dredging, flushing and under-sluicing to reduce sedimentation in the dam and improve power generation efficiency.
To address the crisis, a no-objection certificate (NOC) was issued to Reach Dredging Limited, Kolkata, for the desilting of the Salal dam reservoir. “The work commenced on November 25, 2025,” the official said.
Reach Dredging Limited (RDL) has been involved in dredging operations for the removal of deposited sediments from the Salal Dam reservoir. The company specialises in river engineering, land reclamation and operating portable dredgers.
The firm has obtained permission from the J&K Department of Geology and mining for the disposal of one lakh metric tonnes (MT) of silt. “Of this, 1,77,802 MT has been dredged so far, while 68,490 MT has already been disposed of, “officials added.
In a parallel move, another NOC was issued on February 17 to Dharti Dredging and Infrastructure Limited, Mumbai. “Statutory clearances are under process, after which the work will commence,” the official said.
Separately, a tender has been floated on February 9 to make functional the permanently plugged under-sluices. “The last date for bid submission is March 23,” the official added.
Officials said that the ongoing and proposed measures are aimed at restoring at least partial storage capacity and improving the long-term operational viability of the hydropower station.
He said that flushing operations are being undertaken periodically to minimise sediment build-up and enhance the efficiency of the power station. “These measures are helping in improving the overall performance of the plant,” he added.
For the third component, under-sluicing, Gouraha said bids have been floated, and responses are being evaluated. “A final decision is yet to be taken, but this is also an integral part of our sedimentation management strategy,” he said.
The NHPC-run Salal Hydroelectric Project is a 690 MW run-of-the-river power plant located on the Chenab River in Reasi district, and it supplies electricity to the Northern Grid, including Jammu and Kashmir.
Salal was the first hydropower project constructed by India under the treaty and features a 130-metre-high dam.
As per reports, sediment trapped by the Salal hydropower dam has resulted in a reduction in the water storage capacity of its reservoir.
The 22-kilometre-long reservoir created by the Salal dam on the Chenab River has faced high sediment inflows due to fragile geological formations, steep and unstable slopes, intense monsoon rains and frequent seismic activity in the region, the reports said.
Taking this into consideration, Union Minister of Power and Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on January 4 directed sediment removal at the Salal project to ensure maximum utilisation of water resources, in the wake of the treaty being kept in abeyance between India and Pakistan.
