Kashmir’s Rivers Should Power Its People Part-II

The article argues that Kashmir’s power crisis is rooted not just in tariffs and losses but in a deeper resource-economics question: who owns the value of its rivers. Despite vast hydropower generation from the Chenab, Jhelum and other rivers, Kashmiris face high bills while electricity flows out of the region. The writer calls for a “Kashmir Power Dividend” that treats hydropower as a natural-resource right, ensuring basic free or low-cost household electricity, preferential tariffs for productive sectors like horticulture, tourism and small industry, and reinvestment in modernising the grid. Rather than endless tariff hikes, the piece urge…