[9] The Ravi River originates in the Himalayas in the Multhan tehsil of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India.

[2] It is the smallest of the five Punjab rivers that rise from glacier fields at an elevation of 14,000 feet (4,300 m), on the southern side of the Mid Himalayas.

During 1858–1860, the Raja of Bharmour had considered the Budhil valley as an excellent source of Deodar trees for supply to the British Raj.

The second tributary, the Nai, rises at Kali Debi pass, and flows for 48 kilometres (30 mi), with a bed slope of 366 feet per mile (69.3 m/km), from its source at Trilokinath to its confluence with the Ravi.

This river was also exploited for its forest resources, (controlled by the then Raja of Chamba) originating from the Jammu region.

The valley formed by this stream is U-shaped with a river bed scattered with boulders and glacial morainic deposits.

[12] The main Ravi River flows through the base of Dalhousie hill, past the Chamba town.

It is at an elevation of 856 metres (2,807 ft) (where a long wooden bridge existed to cross the Ravi River).

[13] It flows into the south-west, near Dalhousie, and then cuts a gorge in the Dhauladhar Range, before entering the Punjab plain near Madhopur and Pathankot.

[2][9] According to satellite imagery studies carried out over a period of 20 years (between 1972–1973 and 1991–1993), the river coursing along the India–Pakistan border meanders substantially in the alluvial plains of the Amritsar, Pathankot, and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab.

[14] In the transboundary Ravi River flowing from India to Pakistan, in urban areas of Lahore the pollution levels in the river discharge are reportedly very high, which is attributed to careless disposal of large amount of industrial and agricultural wastewater and faulty drainage systems in both countries.

[15] A 72-kilometre (45 mi) stretch of the Ravi River from Lahore Siphon to Baloki headworks indicates heavy contamination of the water and sediment with Cd, Cr, Pt, and Cu.

Recent reports suggest that the river stands as the most contaminated globally, with pharmaceutical residues such as paracetamol, nicotine, caffeine, and medications for epilepsy and diabetes detected in its waters.

[15] The northern portion surrounding the Ravi is the lifeline of many different flora, notably deodar, walnut, holly oak, mulberry, alder, edible pine, Himalayan cypress, chinar, Daphne papyracea, north Indian rosewood, olive, and Toxicodendron acuminatum.

It is located on the main stem of the Ravi River, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) upstream of Madhopur Headworks (built during pre-partition time).

The project is an outcome of the development plan conceived for the use of the waters of three eastern rivers allocated to India under the Indus Treaty, namely the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi, for irrigation, hydropower generation and other consumptive uses.

The dispute was resolved with the intervention of the World Bank and a treaty was signed in 1960 on sharing of the Indus waters between India and Pakistan.

According to this treaty, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, which constitute the eastern rivers, are allocated for exclusive use by India before they enter Pakistan.

According to a directive of the Government of India, planning for the development of the Ravi and Beas rivers was initiated concurrently with the treaty negotiations, which involved four riparian states of Punjab, PEPSU (this was merged with Punjab and subsequently Punjab was divided, and additionally the Haryana state was created), Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) within the ambit of the already developed Bhakra Nangal Dam project on the Sutlej River.

The unused flow in the two river systems was assessed at 19.22 cubic kilometres (15,580,000 acre⋅ft), which was planned to be developed by the four states of J&K, PEPSU, Punjab and Rajasthan.

[20][35] As a counterclaim to the exclusive claims of Punjab, Haryana claims that a small part of Haryana state lying north in Panchkula district[36] is part of the Sutlej river basin area in addition to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in India.

This was followed by the Punjab accord signed by the then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, President of the Shiromani Akali Dal, on 24 July 1985.

This accord stipulated that The farmers of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan will continue to get water not less than what they are using from the Ravi Beas system as on 1.7.1985.

9.2 The claim of Punjab and Haryana regarding the shares in their remaining waters shall be referred for adjudication to a Tribunal to be presided over by Supreme Court Judge.

In the meantime, a Presidential reference on Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 is pending before the Honorable Supreme Court.

[20][37] The presently incomplete SYL link canal, to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers to transfer Haryana's share of water,[38][39] is now stuck in a dispute in the Supreme Court of India due to objections by Punjab.

Since Punjab had unilaterally exited from the earlier water sharing agreements, J & K state refused the project construction.

Also J & K state is going ahead with the construction of Ravi canal originating from Basantpur to irrigate 54,000 hectares (133,000 acres) of land in Jammu region.