Latest news with #BhakraBeasManagementBoard
Hans India
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Himachal will release water only if BBMB arrears are cleared: CM Sukhu
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Wednesday said the state would give water to Delhi and Haryana if they give Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) arrears pending for 14 years to the state. Speaking at a public gathering at Dehuri in the Banjar development block of Kullu district, he said: 'I went to Delhi with the demands of the people of Himachal Pradesh. We will give water to Delhi and Haryana, but first, they should give the BBMB arrears pending for 14 years to Himachal Pradesh. 'I have clearly said first that the neighbouring states should file an affidavit in the Supreme Court to pay the arrears, then we will move forward on the Kishau dam. I consider the state as my family, so I will not compromise with the interests of Himachal Pradesh.' During his two-day visit, the Chief Minister announced to opening of Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding School, affiliated with the CBSE and a milk processing unit with a capacity of 10,000 litres in Banjar. He said the government was bringing about extensive reforms in the field of education, and these efforts would continue in future as well. Slamming former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, he said the BJP leader distributed electoral freebies of Rs 5,000 crore to win the assembly elections. 'He opened new institutions but cheated the people of the state by not providing staff and proper facilities. He's responsible for the decline in the level of education.' The Chief Minister said: 'We are not opening new educational institutions, but appointing teachers in schools and providing facilities so that children in rural areas can get a better education environment. As a step to bring reforms, we created the Directorate of School Education from class 1 to XII, started English medium classes and will make extensive reforms in the field of education in the coming time.' The Chief Minister said those who had already been accused of corruption were making false allegations against the present state government to mislead the people of the state. 'Today, they have become the policymakers of the BJP, but first, they should look into their own affairs.' During the natural calamity in 2023, the BJP leaders did not go to the Central government even once to plead for the rights of the affected families, while the Congress government stood with the people. 'We changed the rules to rehabilitate the affected families and gave a special relief package and increased the compensation for the house being completely damaged from Rs 1.50 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, while the compensation for the partially damaged house was increased to one lakh,' the Chief Minister added.
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
HP CM seeks permanent member from state in BBMB
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu called on Union minister for power Manohar Lal Khattar in New Delhi and advocated for the release of arrears due from Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) besides calling for appointing a permanent member from Himachal Pradesh to the BBMB. Sukhu urged for an increase in the state's free power share in hydropower projects operated by public sector undertakings (PSUs) and central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), particularly those where the cost has already been recovered. He said that while the state was significantly contributing to the development of the nation, therefore its rightful dues must also be safeguarded. During the meeting, Sukhu also discussed the long-pending demand of handing over the Baira Siul project to the state, which was constructed in 1980-81. He thanked the Union minister for giving in-principle approval to the handover of Luhri, Sunni and Dhaula Sidh projects of the SJVNL, as well as the Duggar project of NHPC to the State. He said that cost assessment of these projects was currently underway. He also demanded the release of central funds for the development of the Jathia Devi Township and held discussions on various ongoing projects under the urban development department. Sukhu also called on Union jal shakti minister CR Patil and advocated for the protection of rights of the state in the Kishau hydro-electric project. He emphasised the need for a favourable funding pattern. He said the financial burden of the Kishau project should be borne entirely either by the central government or by the major beneficiary states, such as Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. During the meeting, the CM also raised critical issues concerning the Renuka Dam project. He called for due consideration of the Local Area Development Fund and the free power component. During a meeting with Union minister for health and family welfare JP Nadda, he sought central support for strengthening health infrastructure in HP. He specifically requested the establishment of a dedicated cancer care centre in the state and introduction of advanced medical technologies and modern equipment in government hospitals. While meeting Union minister for culture and tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, he requested for speedy approval for Auhar project and added that state government envisages to develop it as major water sports destination. He added that projects for Dehra and Pong dam were also awaiting approval.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Water-sharing dispute: Punjab holds ‘victory rally'
Amid the ongoing face-off between Punjab and Haryana over water sharing, a 'victory rally' was held on Wednesday in Punjab's Nangal led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who said 'Punjabis have proved that if the state can protect the borders of the country they can aptly save the waters of state too.' Addressing the rally, the Chief Minister said, '..for around 20 days, the hard-working and vigilant people of the Punjab didn't allow Haryana and the Centre to take away even a single drop of water from Punjab. He said for years, Punjab's water has been diverted to other states through the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), and the Congress, Akali Dal, and BJP have backstabbed the people of Punjab by ignoring the water rights of the State. Mr. Mann said that the State government will flag the issue of reconstitution of BBMB in the meeting of Niti Aayog slated to be held on Saturday. He said that as the level of water is changing frequently so every water agreement should be reviewed after every 25 years. Punjab is a landlocked border state which has already overexploited its only available natural resources in terms of water and fertile soil to feed the country, he added. He said BBMB was originally established to manage the waters of the Sutlej and Beas rivers, but over years, Punjab's water has been diverted to other states through the BBMB, adding 'the BJP government has started using this board for its political interests.' Mr. Mann said that despite being smaller in area, Haryana is getting more water than Punjab and ironically, it is demanding more water at the cost of Punjab. 'How can we give water to Haryana if our own fields are starving for it. Nearly 60% of the state's farmlands are irrigated through canals, which makes every drop of Punjab's water extremely valuable,' he said. Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains said dozens of villages in the region had been facing hardship due to decades of negligence and failure by previous governments. 'We have developed nearly ₹200 crore worth of plans, ensuring that no water will be wasted. The water that rightfully belongs to Punjab will now irrigate our farmers' fields and reach our homes,' he said.
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
India's share of Indus waters can recharge Punjab aquifers
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, India decided to put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. Transboundary water-sharing agreements are vital to maintaining harmonious international relations in the long run. India also shares water with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China. We need to prioritise full usage within treaties before we reject any. Under the Indus Water Treaty, India has the right to use all of the water of the three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — while Pakistan has the right to use most of the three western rivers, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. Officials of the Jal Shakti ministry have stated that not a drop of India's share of water under the treaty would be allowed to flow into Pakistan. Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said the suspension of IWT will prove to be 'a blessing for our agriculture in states such as Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir'. But India is yet to develop the infrastructure needed to stop the water from flowing downstream to Pakistan and has not yet fully utilised its water rights. The government plans to deploy short-, medium-, and long-term measures to implement its current stance. In the short term, it is considering de-silting reservoirs to increase capacity. In the medium and long term, India may expedite the completion of ongoing projects like Shahpurkandi and Ujh, or consider constructing new dams. While these steps are helpful, they face significant challenges, including technical, environmental, and political constraints. Therefore, it is crucial that India broadens its thinking and looks for more innovative measures to safeguard its water rights. One such measure that is under-represented in the public discourse is the utilisation of the vast underground aquifer space in Punjab. These aquifers, severely depleted over the past decades, have the ability to store vast quantities of water. The understanding of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) techniques has improved significantly over the past few decades, and it can help strengthen our water security and implement the government's priorities. India has one major dam on each of the three eastern rivers of the Indus system: Bhakra on Sutlej, Pong on Beas, and Ranjit Sagar on Ravi. These are at locations where these great rivers cross the Lower Himalayan range. These locations present perfect narrow valleys where we can use the mountains to impound large quantities of water to have deep reservoirs. But these three locations have already been utilised. As per the Bhakra Beas Management Board, India is currently unable to use 2.5 billion cubic metres (BCM) of the water from the three eastern rivers. During monsoons, the peak flows are so high that much of the water is let out to Pakistan. Additionally, annual rainfall in northwestern India is expected to increase with the climate crisis. There is a clear need to augment the storage capacity if India wants to utilise its entitlements and tap surplus monsoon waters. Meanwhile, Punjab's groundwater situation paints a worrying picture. Central Groundwater Board (CGWB) estimates that the state is extracting 165% more water than its natural recharge. Groundwater levels are declining by more than one metre per year in some areas. While the aquifers in Punjab are quite deep, much of the deeper groundwater is saline, and the thickness of the freshwater at the top is decreasing. If current practices persist, extensive areas could become saline in the next few decades. Worse, the falling groundwater levels in central and southern Punjab, could invert the direction of sub-surface flows of groundwater in the coming decades. There is a high risk that saline groundwater from south-western Punjab will migrate into central Punjab and contaminate aquifers that still support fertile agriculture. CGWB has estimated that Punjab has approximately 50 billion cubic metres of aquifer space available for recharge. In theory, 20 years' worth of excess water of the three eastern rivers can be channeled into the aquifers of Punjab. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) refers to the intentional recharge of water into aquifers using human-made systems to enhance the natural replenishment of groundwater. India has traditionally been doing watershed management in its own way, but for something like the diversion of Indus waters, it needs to do much more. There is growing evidence of successfully managed aquifer recharge around the world. Tucson, Arizona, in the US has a case similar to Punjab. Tucson has an alluvial aquifer in a semi-arid region and was facing groundwater decline after the advent of borewells around the 1950s. However, it started to receive water from the Colorado River in the 1990s and chose to replenish its aquifers, via carefully managed recharge projects. Tucson's groundwater levels have since stabilised and begun to recover, offering a critical buffer against future water insecurity. Underground Transfer of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI) is a type of MAR that has been successfully tested in Uttar Pradesh by the International Water Management Institute. It essentially involves three steps. One, the identification of areas with good aquifer storage, high recharge capacity soils, proximity to canal systems, and good water quality. Two, the construction of small ponds equipped with recharge wells with appropriate filtration systems. Three, the diversion of peak flood waters during the monsoon. This decentralised and cost-effective technique can be scaled across the central Punjab belt. A few hundred strategically placed UTFI systems could significantly augment groundwater storage at a regional scale. We should use India's share of Indus waters to address our challenges even as we hold the IWT in abeyance. Managed aquifer recharge in Punjab can be the start. Vivek Singh Grewal is a hydrogeologist and managing partner at WELL Labs, a not-for-profit water systems research and innovation centre. The views expressed are personal
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Recharge Punjab's aquifers with India's share of Indus waters
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, India decided to put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. Transboundary water-sharing agreements are vital to maintaining harmonious international relations in the long run. India also shares water with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China. We need to prioritise full usage within treaties before we reject any. Under the Indus Water Treaty, India has the right to use all of the water of the three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — while Pakistan has the right to use most of the three western rivers, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. Officials of the Jal Shakti ministry have stated that not a drop of India's share of water under the treaty would be allowed to flow into Pakistan. Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said the suspension of IWT will prove to be 'a blessing for our agriculture in states such as Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir'. But India is yet to develop the infrastructure needed to stop the water from flowing downstream to Pakistan and has not yet fully utilised its water rights. The government plans to deploy short-, medium-, and long-term measures to implement its current stance. In the short term, it is considering de-silting reservoirs to increase capacity. In the medium and long term, India may expedite the completion of ongoing projects like Shahpurkandi and Ujh, or consider constructing new dams. While these steps are helpful, they face significant challenges, including technical, environmental, and political constraints. Therefore, it is crucial that India broadens its thinking and looks for more innovative measures to safeguard its water rights. One such measure that is under-represented in the public discourse is the utilisation of the vast underground aquifer space in Punjab. These aquifers, severely depleted over the past decades, have the ability to store vast quantities of water. The understanding of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) techniques has improved significantly over the past few decades, and it can help strengthen our water security and implement the government's priorities. India has one major dam on each of the three eastern rivers of the Indus system: Bhakra on Sutlej, Pong on Beas, and Ranjit Sagar on Ravi. These are at locations where these great rivers cross the Lower Himalayan range. These locations present perfect narrow valleys where we can use the mountains to impound large quantities of water to have deep reservoirs. But these three locations have already been utilised. As per the Bhakra Beas Management Board, India is currently unable to use 2.5 billion cubic metres (BCM) of the water from the three eastern rivers. During monsoons, the peak flows are so high that much of the water is let out to Pakistan. Additionally, annual rainfall in northwestern India is expected to increase with the climate crisis. There is a clear need to augment the storage capacity if India wants to utilise its entitlements and tap surplus monsoon waters. Meanwhile, Punjab's groundwater situation paints a worrying picture. Central Groundwater Board (CGWB) estimates that the state is extracting 165% more water than its natural recharge. Groundwater levels are declining by more than one metre per year in some areas. While the aquifers in Punjab are quite deep, much of the deeper groundwater is saline, and the thickness of the freshwater at the top is decreasing. If current practices persist, extensive areas could become saline in the next few decades. Worse, the falling groundwater levels in central and southern Punjab, could invert the direction of sub-surface flows of groundwater in the coming decades. There is a high risk that saline groundwater from south-western Punjab will migrate into central Punjab and contaminate aquifers that still support fertile agriculture. CGWB has estimated that Punjab has approximately 50 billion cubic metres of aquifer space available for recharge. In theory, 20 years' worth of excess water of the three eastern rivers can be channeled into the aquifers of Punjab. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) refers to the intentional recharge of water into aquifers using human-made systems to enhance the natural replenishment of groundwater. India has traditionally been doing watershed management in its own way, but for something like the diversion of Indus waters, it needs to do much more. There is growing evidence of successfully managed aquifer recharge around the world. Tucson, Arizona, in the US has a case similar to Punjab. Tucson has an alluvial aquifer in a semi-arid region and was facing groundwater decline after the advent of borewells around the 1950s. However, it started to receive water from the Colorado River in the 1990s and chose to replenish its aquifers, via carefully managed recharge projects. Tucson's groundwater levels have since stabilised and begun to recover, offering a critical buffer against future water insecurity. Underground Transfer of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI) is a type of MAR that has been successfully tested in Uttar Pradesh by the International Water Management Institute. It essentially involves three steps. One, the identification of areas with good aquifer storage, high recharge capacity soils, proximity to canal systems, and good water quality. Two, the construction of small ponds equipped with recharge wells with appropriate filtration systems. Three, the diversion of peak flood waters during the monsoon. This decentralised and cost-effective technique can be scaled across the central Punjab belt. A few hundred strategically placed UTFI systems could significantly augment groundwater storage at a regional scale. We should use India's share of Indus waters to address our challenges even as we hold the IWT in abeyance. Managed aquifer recharge in Punjab can be the start. Vivek Singh Grewal is a hydrogeologist and managing partner at WELL Labs, a not-for-profit water systems research and innovation centre. The views expressed are personal
