On 2 August 2026, Dr Jitendra Singh reviewed the status and phased implementation roadmap of the Ujh Multipurpose Project (MPP) in Kathua district, Jammu & Kashmir, being implemented by WAPCOS Ltd. under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The project will irrigate nearly 90,000 hectares across Kathua and Samba in J&K and Pathankot and Gurdaspur in Punjab, and supply drinking water to Kathua. For a CDS/OTA aspirant this is a high-value topic — it joins river geography, the Indus Waters Treaty and India-Pakistan relations in one story.
The news in one frame
The essentials:
- What: the Ujh Multipurpose Project, on the Ujh, a tributary of the Ravi.
- Where: Kathua district, Jammu & Kashmir.
- Implementing agency: WAPCOS Ltd., a PSU under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- Benefits: irrigation for about 90,000 hectares (Kathua, Samba, Pathankot, Gurdaspur), drinking water for Kathua, plus hydropower and industrial supply.
- Approach: phased implementation, with work beginning while remaining land acquisition proceeds in parallel.
- Companion project: Shahpurkandi, also on the Ravi, revived to optimise India's Ravi waters.
The Indus Waters Treaty, 1960 — the core
Start with the treaty, the single most examinable element here:
- Signed in 1960 at Karachi by Jawaharlal Nehru and General Ayub Khan, brokered by the World Bank after nearly nine years of negotiation.
- The Indus system's six rivers were divided:
- Eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, Sutlej → allotted to India for unrestricted use.
- Western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, Chenab → allotted largely to Pakistan, with India permitted non-consumptive uses: run-of-the-river hydropower, navigation, and limited irrigation and storage.
- A Permanent Indus Commission, with a Commissioner from each country, handles data exchange and routine disputes; unresolved issues escalate to a Neutral Expert or a Court of Arbitration.
- The treaty survived three wars and was long cited as a model river-sharing agreement; it has more recently been placed in abeyance by India.
This is exactly the material the CDS/OTA notes on geography build.
Why Ujh and Shahpurkandi matter strategically
The logical link the exam likes:
- India has legal rights to the entire flow of the eastern rivers, but historically lacked the storage and diversion infrastructure to use all of it — so a portion of India's own Ravi water simply flowed across the border unused.
- Shahpurkandi Barrage (on the Ravi, downstream of Ranjit Sagar/Thein Dam) and the Ujh MPP are the two structures designed to capture and use that share.
- The gain is threefold — irrigation for the Kandi belt, drinking water, and hydropower — plus a strategic dimension, since better water management in a border district also supports settlement and infrastructure.
- The Ujh project has been described as revived after nearly a century of being contemplated — a reminder that many Indian water projects fail on land acquisition and clearances, not on engineering.
These themes recur in the CDS/OTA daily current affairs.
The Indus system — river geography you must know
Round out with the map facts:
- The Indus rises near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, enters India in Ladakh, and flows through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea.
- The Jhelum rises at Verinag in the Kashmir Valley and flows through Wular Lake; Wular is India's largest freshwater lake and a Ramsar site.
- The Chenab is formed by the union of the Chandra and Bhaga at Tandi in Himachal Pradesh.
- The Ravi rises in the Kullu hills (Himachal); the Beas rises at Beas Kund near Rohtang; the Sutlej, the longest of the five Punjab rivers, rises from Rakas Tal near Mansarovar in Tibet.
- The name "Punjab" means the land of five waters — Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej — all Indus tributaries; the five join and meet the Indus at Panjnad in Pakistan.
- Key dams: Bhakra (Sutlej), Pong (Beas), Ranjit Sagar/Thein (Ravi), Baglihar and Salal (Chenab), Kishanganga (a Jhelum tributary).
The revision hook: Indus Waters Treaty 1960, Karachi, Nehru–Ayub Khan, World Bank-brokered; eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) = India unrestricted; western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) = Pakistan, India non-consumptive only; Permanent Indus Commission → Neutral Expert → Court of Arbitration; Ujh MPP = Kathua (J&K) on the Ujh, a Ravi tributary, ~90,000 ha irrigation across Kathua, Samba, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, by WAPCOS under Jal Shakti; Shahpurkandi = the other Ravi project; Punjab = land of five rivers meeting the Indus at Panjnad.
India's inter-State river-water framework
A short companion set, since water questions often shift from international to domestic:
- Water is a State subject (Entry 17, State List), but inter-State rivers are a Union subject (Entry 56, Union List).
- Article 262 empowers Parliament to provide for adjudication of inter-State river-water disputes and to bar the courts' jurisdiction over them.
- The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 creates tribunals — Cauvery, Krishna, Ravi-Beas, Mahadayi and others.
- The River Boards Act, 1956 allows river boards for regulation and development.
- The National Water Policy and the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers (Ken-Betwa being the first project taken up) sit above these.
Why it matters
For the essay/interview and bigger picture:
- Water security: India is a water-stressed country; using its legally allotted share fully is basic prudence.
- Border-region development: irrigation and drinking water in a frontier district strengthen livelihoods and settlement.
- Diplomatic signal: how India manages the Indus system is read closely across the border — water is both resource and leverage.
Exam relevance in one paragraph
For CDS/OTA GK, retain: the Ujh Multipurpose Project in Kathua district, Jammu & Kashmir, is planned on the Ujh, a tributary of the Ravi, and is being implemented by WAPCOS Ltd. under the Ministry of Jal Shakti in phases, to irrigate about 90,000 hectares in Kathua and Samba (J&K) and Pathankot and Gurdaspur (Punjab), supply drinking water to Kathua and generate hydropower; it complements the Shahpurkandi project in using India's full Ravi entitlement; under the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 at Karachi by Nehru and Ayub Khan with World Bank mediation, the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) are for India's unrestricted use while the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) go largely to Pakistan with India permitted non-consumptive run-of-the-river use, disputes being handled by the Permanent Indus Commission, then a Neutral Expert or a Court of Arbitration; domestically, water is a State subject but inter-State rivers are Union, with Article 262 and the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 governing disputes. For the essay, frame it as using what is already ours.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. The Ujh, on which the Ujh Multipurpose Project is planned, is a tributary of the: (a) Ravi (b) Chenab (c) Jhelum (d) Sutlej → (a) — the Ravi.
Q2. The Ujh Multipurpose Project is located in which district? (a) Kathua (b) Baramulla (c) Leh (d) Poonch → (a) — Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir.
Q3. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, the eastern rivers allotted to India are: (a) Ravi, Beas, Sutlej (b) Indus, Jhelum, Chenab (c) Ganga, Yamuna, Kosi (d) Tapi, Narmada, Mahi → (a) — the eastern three.
Q4. The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in: (a) 1960 (b) 1947 (c) 1972 (d) 1998 → (a) — 1960.
Q5. The treaty was brokered by the: (a) World Bank (b) United Nations (c) IMF (d) WTO → (a) — the World Bank.
Q6. India's permitted use of the western rivers is largely: (a) non-consumptive, run-of-the-river (b) unlimited storage (c) full diversion (d) none at all → (a) — non-consumptive uses.
Q7. Disputes under the treaty are first handled by the: (a) Permanent Indus Commission (b) ICJ (c) UN Security Council (d) SAARC → (a) — the Permanent Indus Commission.
Q8. The other Ravi-river project revived alongside Ujh is: (a) Shahpurkandi (b) Baglihar (c) Kishanganga (d) Tehri → (a) — Shahpurkandi.
Q9. The Ujh project is being implemented by: (a) WAPCOS Ltd. (b) NTPC (c) ONGC (d) BHEL → (a) — WAPCOS, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Q10. The Chenab is formed by the confluence of: (a) Chandra and Bhaga (b) Alaknanda and Bhagirathi (c) Beas and Sutlej (d) Tons and Yamuna → (a) — Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi.
Q11. The Jhelum rises at: (a) Verinag (b) Beas Kund (c) Rakas Tal (d) Gaumukh → (a) — Verinag, Kashmir Valley.
Q12. The Bhakra Dam is built on the: (a) Sutlej (b) Ravi (c) Beas (d) Chenab → (a) — the Sutlej.
Q13. Under the Constitution, adjudication of inter-State river-water disputes is provided for by: (a) Article 262 (b) Article 356 (c) Article 370 (d) Article 32 → (a) — Article 262.
Q14. Water, as a general subject, falls in the: (a) State List (b) Union List (c) Concurrent List only (d) Residuary powers → (a) — the State List (Entry 17); inter-State rivers are Union (Entry 56).
Q15. The five rivers of Punjab join and meet the Indus at: (a) Panjnad (b) Devprayag (c) Allahabad (d) Sonprayag → (a) — Panjnad.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
River geography and treaties form a reliable CDS/OTA set. The reliable framings are the eastern-vs-western river split under the IWT, year and mediator (1960, World Bank), tributary-to-main-river matching (Ujh-Ravi, Chandra+Bhaga-Chenab), and dam-to-river matching (Bhakra-Sutlej, Baglihar-Chenab). A common trap places the Chenab among the eastern rivers or dates the treaty to 1947. The fresh 2026 hook is the Ujh MPP review — ideal for "which river / which district / which treaty" items. We reference the pattern, not any exact past question.
Preparing for CDS or OTA? River systems, treaties and water governance are high-yield geography topics and strong essay material on water security. Follow our daily CDS/OTA current affairs and train with serving-officer faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
✍️ Written by Aditya Tiwari — Geography & current-affairs faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk. The Cavalier, founded by ex-Army officers, has trained NDA/CDS/SSB aspirants since 2001 (Facebook · YouTube).
Source: PIB / Ministry of Science & Technology & Ministry of Jal Shakti, 2 August 2026. Facts cross-verified with independent sources.