China concedes it has built hydel station on Sutlej in Tibet

New Delhi, Aug 17 (UNI) The government India today said in Rajya Sabha that China had conceded that it had built a hydel power station in the upper reaches of Sutlej in Tibet region and asserted that the government remained vigilant in monitoring the security situation in its periphery and promised to take all steps necessary to safeguard the security and territorial integrity of India.

In his written reply to the the questions of Mr Motilal Vohra and others, Union Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed said in the Upper House that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had told India it had constructed a 'small scale hydro power station on the Langqunsanbhu (Sutlej) at Zhada Country in Tibet Autonomous Region to satisfy the daily power needs of local population. It had also contended that it adhered to the basic principle of fair and reasonable development and utilisation of trans-boundary rivers fully considering its impact on the lower reaches.

Mr Ahamed said the government took up the issue of creation of a landslide dam and barrier lake on River Parechu in Tibet last year in a proactive manner and Inter-Ministerial teams were sent to hold discussions with the Chinese side to mitigate the crisis in 2005. The Chinese had agreed for ensuring controlled release of water from Parechu river as soon as conditions permitted. The Chinese had told India that the base structure in the landslide dam had been washed away and with the discharge of accumulated water behind the dam, the artificial lake on river Parechu no longer posed any threat to downstream areas.

To the question if India was capable of safeguarding its borders, the Minister said government remained vigilant in monitoring the security situation in India's periphery and taking all steps to safeguard the security and territorial integrity of India.

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