Himachal wants amicable solution to Bhakra-Nangal water row, but seeks 12% free power royalty
Shimla: Amid the ongoing water-sharing dispute between Punjab and Haryana, Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Saturday said the hill state wants an amicable solution between both these states. But he maintained that they should, at the same time, also respect Himachal's right to 12% free royalty over power generated from the Bhakra-Nangal project.
At present, Himachal gets 7.19% free royalty over the total power generated by the Bhakra-Nangal hydropower project, following Supreme Court orders. However, the hill state claims 12% free royalty over power, as per its own policy.
Until now, Himachal has maintained a neutral stand in the BBMB meetings between Punjab and Haryana.
Sukhu said, "Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan get most of the water distributed by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). When we ask BBMB members for our rights, we do not even get our rights. Both Punjab and Haryana are our brothers. The water dispute between them should be resolved through discussions. But when we wanted to raise the revenue earned from the generation of power through water, both these states objected to it. They should not do this. We are not asking for any right over water."
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Sukhu further said the people of Himachal became oustees as their lands were acquired for this project in Bilaspur, but the fight for water is in Punjab. Water is a national resource. All should sit together to find a solution, he added.
The Himachal CM reiterated that Haryana and Punjab should understand that when Himachal comes to attend BBMB meetings, they should also lend it their support in protecting its own rights.
After the Himachal govt approached the Supreme Court on Sept 27, 2011, a division bench of Justices RV Raveendran and AK Patnaik ruled, "It is hereby declared that the plaintiff-state (Himachal Pradesh) is entitled to 7.19% of the power of the composite state of Punjab from the Bhakra-Nangal project with effect from 01.11.1966 and from the Beas project with effect from the dates of production in units I and II."
Himachal's right over Bhakra-Nangal
The Bhakra dam over the Satluj river was proposed in 1944 in the erstwhile state of Bilaspur, now in Himachal Pradesh. The construction of the Bhakra dam has brought about a lot of benefits to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and the Union territory of Chandigarh, but it has resulted in the submergence of 41,600 acres of land, of which 27,869 acres was in the erstwhile Bilaspur state of Himachal. Three-fourths of the reservoir of the Bhakra dam is located in erstwhile Bilaspur. The Himachal govt had apprised the apex court about it through its petition.
As 7.19% of the total population of the composite state of Punjab was transferred to Himachal Pradesh, , along with the transferred territories, under the 1966 Punjab Reorganisation Act, Himachal was entitled to 7.19% of the total power generated in the Bhakra-Nangal and Beas hydropower projects, as per the recommendation of KS Subrahmanyam, former chairman of the Central Electrical Authority, in his report dated June 29, 1979. However, the Centre agreed in principle that the "mother state" which houses a hydroelectric power project by bearing the reservoir of water required for the generation of hydroelectric power shall be entitled to at least 12% of the total power generated from such a project free of cost. Therefore, Himachal claimed since it is the mother state in which the reservoirs of these two hydropower projects were located, it was entitled to the free supply of 12% of the total power generated by the two projects.
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