Overview
- NHPC project documents published Monday set a formal start date of August 1 and a fixed completion deadline of July 31, 2029 with an estimated cost of about ₹2,300 crore.
- The blueprint calls for a 19‑metre barrage, an intake and an approximately 8.7‑kilometre tunnel to carry surplus Chenab flows into the Beas basin at a diversion site near Koskar village upstream of the Atal Tunnel Rohtang.
- Documents note potential Phase‑II hydropower development tied to the diverted flows, positioning the link as both a water‑management scheme and a future renewable energy asset.
- NHPC flags steep engineering challenges because the site sits in rugged high‑Himalayan terrain with U‑shaped valleys and elevations from roughly 3,095 m to 6,517 m, which will affect design, costs and construction risk.
- Reporters and analysts say the trans‑basin diversion could raise treaty and diplomatic concerns with Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty, though no official response from Pakistan has been reported so far.