Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. (File Photo/PTI)
In an effort to resolve the issue, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhu met Union Power Minister RK Singh in New Delhi and sought his intervention in facilitating the transfer of the project.
The ongoing dispute between Himachal Pradesh and neighboring Punjab over the Shanan Hydroelectric Power Project seems to be escalating as Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Monday urged the Center to help transfer the project to the state after the expiry of its 99-year lease. Help In March 2024.
Following a letter sent by the Himachal Pradesh chief minister to his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann on May 17, requesting him to hand over the Shanan Hydroelectric Power Project, the AAP-led government has steadfastly refused to give up control over the project. Mann said it was unfair that the matter was being raised again as it had already been decided.
In an effort to resolve the issue, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhu met Union Energy Minister RK Singh in New Delhi and sought his intervention in facilitating the transfer of the project. During the meeting, Sukhu highlighted the state’s eligibility for 12 per cent water royalty and discussed Himachal Pradesh’s stake in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
“Many townships in Himachal have faced complete rehabilitation due to the construction of BBMB projects and some oustees have not been compensated even 50 years after being uprooted,” he said.
He urged the Union Minister to consider allowing State Government to levy royalty on free power in all ongoing projects of BBMB.
Sukhu also raised the issue of increase in royalty to the state from Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) projects. “The share of free power royalty received from SJVNL projects, which have completed the loan period of 12 years, may be increased to 30 per cent from the existing 12 per cent,” he added.
The Shanan project, also known as the Uhl River Hydroelectric Project, is estimated to cost Rs 1,600 crore and currently generates 110 MW of electricity. When it was constructed in 1932, it had an installed capacity of 48 MW, which was later expanded in 1982 by the Government of Punjab.
On 17 May, the Chief Minister of Punjab received a letter from his counterpart Sukhu, in which Sukhu said that the 99-year lease of the project and its property given to Punjab by the former ruler of Mandi, Raja Joginder Singh Bahadur, would expire. On March 2, 2024.
Over the years, the issue has become an important political matter in the hill state and was raised and escalated in 1969 and again in 1977 during the tenure of Shanta Kumar as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
The Punjab government has argued that the 99-year-old lease mentioned by the Himachal government became “null and void” after independence.
“The hydro project was given to Punjab as per Section 48, sub-section 1 of the Punjab Reorganization Act. The 99-year-old lease that the Himachal Pradesh government is talking about abolishing becomes invalid after independence. Patta was created in 1935 before India became an independent nation. It is already a settled issue as the Government of India has accepted on two occasions that the project belongs to Punjab,” Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO had said.
