Ian
Shimla/Chandigarh 3rd July
The struggle for legitimate rights in the union territory of Chandigarh intensified when Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sokho said on Monday that the government would address long-standing rights issues with neighboring states that had been long forgotten.
He said another issue was to increase the share of state power in all Bhakra Beas Management (BBMB) projects.
Sukhu said extracting water from BBMB projects without the need for any No Objection Certificate (NOC) from BBMB is a win-win situation for Himachal and now the state has stepped up efforts to secure its legal rights in the union territory of Chandigarh. .
The President said, “The Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966 clearly provides for the right of the State of Himachal Pradesh to its 7.19% stake in Chandigarh. The State has been denied this right from the very beginning and this is a grave injustice to the people of Himachal.” The minister said in a statement.
Sokho’s statement follows that of his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Man, Leader of the Opposition and Congress Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa, who dared to clarify his party’s position on the Himachal government’s claim to Chandigarh.
Mann said Bajwa should clarify his party’s position on the false allegation made by the Himachal Congress government. He also joked that Bajwa, who is also working on the side of the BJP, should also clarify the position of Safran’s party on the issue.
The AAP leader further said that it was shameful for these leaders to change their stance on state interests in favor of their political interests in other states.
Mann stated unequivocally that Chandigarh was and always will be an integral part of the state. He emphatically affirmed that the state government is firmly committed to safeguarding the interests of the state and its people.
After Mann’s assurances, Himachal Chief Minister and Congress leader Sukhu paid him the same coin saying, “Now the state government is raising its voice in all suitable platforms to get all the legitimate rights due to Himachal, including its 7.19% right in Chandigarh.”
The Government of Himachal has set up a sub-committee under the Cabinet to look into all aspects of the matter, after which a report will be submitted to the Cabinet for further discussion. The government will decide its next course of action after considering the findings and recommendations of the cabinet sub-committee.
Sokho said the government is also examining all options to recover the power-sharing arrears. He said that the Supreme Court had already decided to award a 7.19% stake in all BBMB projects in November 2011.
Official sources have told IANS that Himachal is currently receiving its share, but arrears of 13,066 million power units have yet to be released to the state. In addition, the state has also demanded to increase its share of electricity in all BBMB projects erected in Himachal Pradesh, as the natural resources of the state are used to generate electricity through these power projects.
The prime minister said that the current power distribution of BBMB power projects allocates 51.8% to Punjab, 37.51% to Haryana and only 7.19% to Himachal Pradesh.
“Therefore, the partner countries should freely consider increasing the share of Himachal Pradesh as thousands of families have been uprooted and thousands of hectares of land have been submerged due to the construction of these power projects,” he stated.
The Prime Minister stressed the necessity of equitable distribution of shares among the partner countries in these projects. Sokho stressed that the government is leaving no stone unturned to get the right quota from Himachal Pradesh, its commitment to the welfare of its people remains unwavering, and the government will continue to raise state issues on various platforms, until justice is done. .
Responding to Chief Minister Punjab Man’s assurances, Opposition Leader Bajwa said that with the Punjab Congress, they will always stand firm to protect the interests of Punjab and vowed to vigorously defend the rights of Punjabis in Chandigarh.
“My party’s position and mine is quite clear that even an inch of Chandigarh cannot go to Himachal or Haryana,” Congress leader Bajwa said.
He said that he did not remain silent on issues related to the interests of Punjab. Instead, it was the Punjab government led by Aam Aadmi’s party that attempted to mitigate Punjab’s claim to the capital and river waters. Bajwa, who last week invited Himachal Chief Minister Sukhu to Shimla, said the AAP government had already relinquished Punjab’s right to Chandigarh. CM Mann has yet to delete his tweet on July 9, 2022, in which he claimed land in Chandigarh in the center of the breakaway state of Punjab, Vidhan Sabha. This means that Mann still owns his statement in this tweet, which is already weakening Punjab state.
Moreover, the AAP government has never made the case of Punjab’s rights to river waters strong enough. In a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in July 2022, AAP government ministers Harjot Singh Baines and Harpal Singh Cheema demanded the formation of a new river water appraisal tribunal in the ‘state that has diluted the rights of Punjabis to river water’. Bajwa added that Mann never resorted to the River Act to claim the rights of Punjabis to the river waters in recent meetings.
#Bhakra Beas BBMB Board
# Shimla
# Sukhwinder Sukho
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