New Delhi: The Indian government has said it is aware of reports that China has started building a massive dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which flows into India as the Brahmaputra.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, confirmed that preparations for the dam had been going on in China for many years. The government of India has “taken note of reports about commencement of construction of mega dam project by China on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo (upper reaches of the Brahmaputra) River in Tibet," he said. He added that the project had first been publicly mentioned back in 1986.

The minister assured Parliament that India keeps a close watch on all developments concerning the Brahmaputra River, especially those related to China's hydropower plans.

The government, he said, "carefully monitors" these events and "takes necessary measures to protect our interests, including preventive and corrective measures to safeguard life and livelihood of Indian citizens residing in the downstream areas".

Talks with China ongoing since 2006

Singh mentioned that various matters related to cross-border rivers are regularly discussed with China through both expert-level talks and diplomatic discussions.

Sigh said in his response that various issues relating to trans-border rivers are discussed with China under the ambit of an institutionalised expert level mechanism, which was established in 2006, as well as through diplomatic channels.

India has made it clear to China that downstream countries like India must not be affected by activities in upstream areas. "As a lower riparian state with considerable established user rights to the waters of the trans-border rivers, the government has consistently conveyed its views and concerns to the Chinese authorities, including on the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries, and urged them to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in the upstream areas," the minister added.

Singh said that India has raised the need for cooperation over trans-border rivers, including sharing river flow data, in several bilateral meetings with China.

This issue was also discussed during the visit of the External Affairs Minister to China from 14–16 July, when he attended the SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

With PTI inputs