India’s Salal hydropower project lost 96% of reservoir capacity due to silt, now addressing it with dredging and flushing after treaty suspension.

India’s Salal hydropower project in Jammu & Kashmir has lost 96% of its reservoir capacity—down to 9.91 million cubic metres—due to decades of silt buildup after sediment-control systems were disabled under the Indus Waters Treaty. With the treaty suspended in 2025, the NHPC has launched a three-part silt management plan: dredging by Reach Dredging Limited, which has removed 177,802 metric tonnes of silt, plans for a second dredging firm, and a tender to restore six plugged under-sluices by March 23. Periodic flushing is also underway. The 690 MW run-of-the-river plant, vital for the Northern Grid, faces ongoing challenges from the region’s geology and weather.