The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Thursday, December 27, 2001, Chandigarh, India

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BBMB: Punjab may lose control
Lalit Mohan

Ropar, December 26
In a move that could eliminate the quota of Punjab employees in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the Finance Department, Punjab, in a letter today, directed all departments of the state to recall their employees who had either completed five years of service in the BBMB or had just two years left for retirement. If the departments concerned follow the directive of the Finance Ministry, it could result in the elimination of the employee quota of the Punjab in BBMB and consequently the states control over the major power and irrigation project of the region.

At present only about 1200 employees from Punjab from the Irrigation, Finance and Power wings are serving the BBMB against the states quota of about 8,000 employees. All these employees fall in the criteria fixed by the Finance Department for withdrawing employees, which means that they have either completed five years of service in the BBMB or have just two years left for retirement. If the departments concerned follow the directive of the Finance Department it could result in the shifting of all Punjab employees from the BBMB.

The recent directive of the Finance Department has been issued due to the long-standing controversy over the anomaly in pay scales in the BBMB. The BBMB is the managing authority on behalf of the partner states Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Most of the employees working here used to come from the partner states.

However, since there were different pay scales for employees from different partner states, it created a situation where the employees working on similar posts had different pay scales. To remove this disparity in 1974, the BBMB worked out a formula to bring parity in the pay scales of the employees serving the board.

As per the formula employees working in the Irrigation wing of the BBMB were given the option to opt for the scales drawn by any other state employee working on a designation similar to them. Similarly employees of the Power wing also had the right to opt for the scales equal to any other employee working on a similar designation.

In July, 1981, at the 143rd meeting of the board, the disparity between the Irrigation and Power wing employees was also removed. It was decided that any employee working in the BBMB, irrespective of his parent state, had the right to opt for a scale equal to any other person working on a designation similar to him.

The former Chief Secretary, Punjab, Mr R.S. Mann, who was the Secretary Irrigation at that time, was present at the meeting that approved the said decision of the board. After this decision most of the employees of the BBMB opted for the PSEB scales since they were better than most of the scales of the partner states or their power utilities.

In 1994, however, the Finance Department, of Punjab, decided that its employees in the BBMB had no right to draw salaries on the PSEB scales.

Many of Finance Department employees working in the BBMB went to the court and petitioned for the Chief Minister against the arbitrary decision of their department. Recently the Supreme Court also ruled in favour of the BBMB employees.

Based on that decision the Finance Department issued a letter according to which all Punjab employees serving in the BBMB before 1966 were entitled to pension according to the last pay drawn here.

However, the recent directive of the Finance Department has started fresh controversy, which may harm the interests of the state in the organisation.

Sources said that Finance Department had a false notion that it could save money by withdrawing its employees from the BBMB. The BBMB is run through contributions from partner states according to their share quota.

The Punjab Government, which has a share quota of about 55 per cent in the BBMB, has to pay the same share in the BBMB budget. Even if the state withdraws its employees it will have to give its share in the BBMB budget. The vacuum created by the withdrawal of Punjab employees from the organisation will be filled by the BBMB either by calling employees from other partner states or direct recruitment.

If this happens Punjab may lose control over the most prominent irrigation and power project of the region, due to bureaucratic apathy.

The state employees of BBMB have met Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Punjab, who represents the Nangal area regarding the issue. He has assured the employees to take up their case with the Chief Minister.