The term is used to refer to the present-day districts of Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, and, at times, Reasi and parts of Udhampur and Kathua.

[2][12] The term is used by many residents of Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar districts to assert a distinct cultural identity within the larger Jammu division.

[19] Sumantra Bose says that repression by the feudal class in the Kashmir valley drew people to these areas.

[20][21] Chenab Valley is rich in cultural heritage and ethical values, but also has age-old traditions of secularism and tolerance.

[25][20][26] From 1975 to 1976, the Government of India conducted the Preinvestment Survey of Forest Resources specifically in the Chenab Valley by Department of Agriculture.

Officially, Urdu and English are used, but the Chenab Valley is home to a variety of languages, including Kashmiri—spoken by almost half of the population,[34] Gojri, Kishtwari, Bhaderwahi, Sarazi, Dogri, Rambani, Pogali, Pahari, Bhalessi, and Padri.

[36] Dagan top Aaram kund Digaam (gohra gali) All of these are "run-of-the-river" projects as per the Indus Water Treaty of 1960.

The three projects completed as of 2011[update], Salal, Baglihar and Dul Hasti, have a combined storage capacity of 260 thousand acre-feet (320 million cubic metres).

[37] There has been a movement demanding separate administrative division for the Chenab valley by various social and political activists for long time.

People allege negligence in terms of developmental issues by the government if the Chenab valley remains linked to the Jammu division.

Later in 2000, a bill demanding a Hill Development Council for Chenab valley was presented in the legislative assembly by the Sheikh Abdul Rehman (then MLA from Bhaderwah).

[45] In July 2015, then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayed, rules out demand of Chenab Valley Hill Council and announced Chenab Valley Development Fund (CVDF) for development and upliftment of mountainous and remote districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban.

[48] A cloudburst hit Hunzar hamlet in the Dachhan area of Kishtwar district, resulting in 26 persons dead and 17 injured on 28 July 2021.