Baglihar report to be binding on Pak, India: Swiss expert

Winding up a marathon inspection of the 450-mw Baglihar hydro-electric power project, the head of the World Bank- appointed team, Raymond Lafitte, said on Tuesday that his report on technical aspects would be binding on both India and Pakistan.

"We have inspected the Baglihar project and studied, in depth, the objections raised by Pakistan and the counter-points of India," Swiss neutral expert, Lafitte, told reporters in Jammu.

"I have minutely studied technical details of the project and I will submit my report to the World Bank," he said, adding, "My report would be binding on both India and Pakistan."

• Image: The Baglihar Dam Project

The team carried out a hectic two-day inspection of the Baghilar project in Doda district and held extensive discussions with officials at the Chanderkote site. It also studied the power house, dam design and the course of river Chenab.

"We took into consideration points of view of both the countries while inspecting the dam design and peripheral structures," Lafitte said, before the team left for New Delhi.

To a question whether the Baglihar issue had a bearing on the Indo-Pak peace process, he said "I am not a politician."

• 'War the only option to resolve Baglihar dispute'

Besides Lafitte, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and two other Swiss neutral experts, the team comprised six Pakistani and four Indian officials.

Lafitte was appointed the neutral expert by the World Bank in May to adjudicate on Rs 4,500 crore power project under terms of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty after Pakistan raised technical objections.