New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said China has given an assurance that the dam it was building on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet will not harm India's interest and "we trust" its statement.
"India and China are neighbours. It is in our interest to have best possible relations with China...We have been assured (by China) that nothing will be done that will affect India's interest," Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
He was intervening in the reply to a question put to External Affairs Minister SM Krishna during Question Hour.
Singh said the issue of construction of a dam at Zangmu, on the Brahmaputra river in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, has been repeatedly discussed with China. It is a run-of-the-river hydro-electric project which does not store water.
"We trust (Chinese statements) but also verify," he said, adding China has given an assurance that the dam on the river will not in anyway hurt India's interest.
Noting that the sharing of water of rivers which are of inter-state importance can sometime cause problem, Singh said the matter should be allowed to rest with the assurance given by China. "Unnecessary provocation on either side can hurt relations," he said.
Krishna earlier said the government was aware of the construction activity at Zangmu. India had taken up this matter China during the recent visit to India by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in December last year, he said.
"The Government has ascertained that this is a run-of-the-river hydro-electric project, which does not store water and will not adversely impact the downstream areas in India," he said.
India trusts statements "when the Government of China at the highest level assures the Prime Minister" on the dam, Krishna said.
"We trust but we also verify. We have verified" Chinese claims on the dam being run-of-the-river power project which does not store water.
"We are convinced that it is a run-of-the-river project," he said. "We constantly keep our surveillance across the border."
Krishna said 80 per cent of the catchment of the Brahmaputra was within Indian territory. "It is important that the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam harness and utilise the waters of the Brahmaputra.
"The Chinese Premier said that China's development of upstream areas will be on the basis of scientific planning and study and will never harm downstream interests," he added.
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