In an effort to iron out differences between India and Pakistan on the Indus river waters issue, a 13-member team led by World Bank-appointed neutral expert Raymond Lafitte arrived in Jammu on Saturday for a three-day inspection tour of the 450-mw Baglihar hydel project at Patnitop in Jammu and Kashmir.
Lafitte, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne along with two Swiss, six Pakistani and four Indian officials flew in from New Delhi, officials said.
'Baglihar to be completed by June 2006'
"I will not make any comment over it. I am a neutral expert and I will file a report on it," Lafitte told reporters when queried on the project soon after the team landed at Jammu airport.
The Pakistani group headed by Syed Jamait Ali Shah includes Ashfaq Mehmood, Bashir Qurishi, Asif Baig, Peter Joseph and Faisal Ahmed while the Indian team led by R Jayascela comprises B K Mathur, D P Dharzi and Naresh Kumar.
Baglihar row technical, not political: Pakistan
The team, which was escorted under tight security to the state guest house, would be leaving for Patnitop after a night's stay, they said, adding that the team would begin on-site inspection of dam designs and other aspects from Sunday.
Lafitte was appointed the neutral expert to negotiate the Rs 4,500 crore power project by the World Bank in May under the terms of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty after Pakistan said the construction of the project was in violation of the treaty.
The heads of the Indian and Pakistani delegations also remained tight-lipped and declined comment on the issue.
Lafitte already held initial round of talks in Paris in June during which officials of the two countries forwarded written submissions on their respective stands on the project.
Under the terms of the Indus Water Treaty, the decision of Lafitte will be final and binding. The World Bank could, however, appoint an arbitration panel if the two sides were not satisfied with his decision.
Officials of India and Pakistan are, meanwhile, scheduled to meet in New Delhi in November to discuss another power project being constructed on the Kishenganga river in J&K.
However, they will visit the project site from November 7-9 before holding talks from November 10-12.
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