Former Bureaucrat writes to Amit Shah, seeks Parliament Act to abrogate Indus Waters Treaty
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, August 21, 2026: Former Punjab Special Chief Secretary Karan Bir Singh Sidhu, IAS (Retd.), has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging the Centre to convert the current abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960 into a permanent statutory measure through an Act of Parliament.
Sidhu has also proposed the creation of a statutory authority to manage and develop the waters of the Western Rivers—Indus, Jhelum and Chenab—and facilitate their linkage with the Eastern Rivers, Ravi and Beas.
His intervention comes a day after Shah, while addressing the Southern Zonal Council meeting on August 20, spoke about the possibility of interconnecting the Brahmaputra with the Cauvery. Sidhu, writing in his capacity as a private citizen, argued that the principle of river interlinking could have a more immediate application in the Indus basin.
From treaty abeyance to legislation
In his letter, Sidhu traced the Centre's actions concerning the Indus Waters Treaty over the past 16 months.
He referred to the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security on April 23, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack, to place the 1960 treaty in abeyance. According to Sidhu, the decision should now be given a permanent statutory framework rather than remaining an executive decision.
He also referred to a statement made by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil in February 2026, according to which water from the Western Rivers would not reach Pakistan within a period of one-and-a-half to two years.
Sidhu further highlighted the Centre's approval in May 2026 of the Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel, an 8.7-kilometre tunnel through the Great Himalayan watershed near Koksar. The proposed tunnel is intended to carry Chenab water into the Beas system.
He argued that the project represents a form of interlinking between a Western River and an Eastern River and therefore demonstrates the practical possibilities of water management beyond the framework established under the 1960 treaty.
Call for statutory authority
According to Sidhu, the next step should be to establish a legal and institutional framework for managing the Western Rivers.
He has proposed an Act of Parliament formally abrogating the Indus Waters Treaty in relation to the Western Rivers and the creation of a National Authority empowered to plan, finance and oversee projects involving the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab and their linkage with the Ravi and Beas.
Sidhu has suggested that such an authority could draw from the institutional model of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which has administered the Eastern River system for decades.
He has argued that while placing the treaty in abeyance represents a political and executive decision, legislation would provide a more permanent statutory framework for future water management.
Draft Bills submitted to Centre
As part of his proposal, Sidhu has enclosed two draft pieces of legislation with his letter. These include the Indus Waters Treaty (Abrogation) and Western Rivers Development Authority Bill, 2026, along with a proposed Constitution (Amendment) Bill dealing with the constitutional provisions required for the proposed authority and the treaty-related changes.
Sidhu has clarified that the drafts are being submitted as suggestions for consideration by the Union Government and do not represent a claim to authorship of government policy.
The proposal comes amid renewed focus on India's water resources, river interlinking and the future management of the Indus river system.