Which of the statements about the dams on the Chenab river is/are correct? 1. Salal dam, Aalal dam and Baglihar dams are on the Chenab river. 2. Baglihar dam has a greater height than Salal dam. 3. Salal dam is operated by Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation and Baglihar dam is operated by NHPC Limited. Select the answer using the code given below:

Correct — A, 1 and 2. Statement 3 is the false one, and it is false by inversion rather than by invention: Salal is operated by NHPC Limited, and Baglihar by the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation. The question simply swaps them, which is the commonest way to falsify an ownership statement. Statement 2 is true — Baglihar's dam is about 143 metres high against Salal's 113 metres, and the comparison survives even if one uses the lower figure of 81.38 metres that some sources give for Salal by measuring from the river bed instead of the lowest foundation. Statement 1 is also true, and it is the one worth pausing over. 'Aalal' looks like a misprint, and it is missing from the usual reference lists of Chenab projects, which name Baglihar, Salal, Dul Hasti, Ratle, Pakal Dul, Kiru and Kwar. But Aalal is a genuine concrete dam on the river: the large dams on the Chenab are reported as Salal, Aalal, Baglihar and Dul. Since only statement 3 fails, the answer is 1 and 2.

• (b)2 and 3 — Accepts the reversed operators. Salal was transferred to NHPC on an ownership basis after completion; Baglihar was the first power project executed by the J&K State Power Development Corporation.
• (c)2 only — The strongest wrong option, and the one a careful candidate is most likely to choose: reject statement 3 correctly, then reject statement 1 because 'Aalal' does not appear in the familiar list of Chenab dams. It is a real dam, so this over-corrects.
• (d)3 only — Keeps only the statement that is actually false, and discards the height comparison, which is straightforwardly true.

The Chenab is one of the three western rivers allotted to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, on which India retains a right to non-consumptive use including run-of-the-river hydropower. That is why the river carries a chain of Indian hydroelectric projects and why their design — pondage, spillway gates, freeboard — has repeatedly been the subject of treaty dispute.

Ownership on the Chenab is split between a central public sector undertaking and the union territory's own corporation, which is what statement 3 plays on. Salal, commissioned in stages from the late 1980s, is NHPC's; Baglihar, commissioned in 2008 and 2015 in two stages, was built and is run by JKSPDC and was the project a neutral expert examined in 2007 under the Indus Waters Treaty, ruling it broadly within treaty parameters while requiring design changes. Present-day line worth carrying: in April 2025 India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam attack, and reservoir flushing at Salal and Baglihar was reported soon after — so any card on these dams should be anchored to the exam and then updated, rather than describing the treaty position as static.

• Salal Dam: on the Chenab, 113 m, 690 MW, operated by NHPC Limited.
• Baglihar Dam: on the Chenab, 143 m, 900 MW, executed and operated by the J&K State Power Development Corporation.
• The four large dams on the Chenab are reported as Salal, Aalal, Baglihar and Dul.
• Other Chenab projects include Dul Hasti, Ratle, Pakal Dul, Kiru and Kwar.
• Under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 the Chenab is a western river allotted to Pakistan, with India permitted non-consumptive uses including run-of-the-river hydropower.

• Assuming an unfamiliar name in a list is a misprint. Aalal is real, and rejecting statement 1 on that basis leads straight to option (c).
• Swapping the operators. Salal is NHPC's; Baglihar is JKSPDC's.
• Comparing dam heights across sources without checking the convention. Salal is quoted as both 113 m and 81.38 m depending on the datum, but Baglihar exceeds either.

As a three-statement item mixing a list, a comparison and an ownership claim, with the ownership claim reversed. Ownership and operator statements are among the most reliably falsified elements in this format.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Baglihar Hydroelectric Project, examined by a neutral expert in 2007 under the Indus Waters Treaty, is on which river?

  • (a)Jhelum
  • (b)Chenab
  • (c)Ravi
  • (d)Beas

  Answer(b) Chenab — the Kishanganga dispute concerned a tributary of the Jhelum.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, which set of rivers was allotted to India?

  • (a)Indus, Jhelum, Chenab
  • (b)Ravi, Beas, Sutlej
  • (c)Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej
  • (d)Jhelum, Beas, Indus

  Answer(b) Ravi, Beas, Sutlej — the eastern rivers; the western three went to Pakistan with non-consumptive rights for India.