Shanan power house: From engineering marvel to crumbling relic

The British-era 110 MW Shanan Hydropower Project at Jogindernagar, once a jewel of engineering heritage, today lies in a state of neglect due to the Punjab Government’s apathy. Built in 1932, the powerhouse stands as a crumbling monument to history, its fate hanging in legal limbo after the expiry of its 99-year lease in April 2024.

The project was originally leased by Raja Joginder Sen, ruler of Mandi state, to Col. BC Batty, a British representative. After the reorganisation of states in 1966, when Himachal Pradesh was still a union territory, the powerhouse was transferred to Punjab since the lease was still valid. Following the lease expiry, the project was to be handed over to Himachal Pradesh, but the matter is pending before the Supreme Court, keeping Punjab in control.

Once celebrated as one of the oldest hydroelectric plants in India, Shanan supplied power to Lahore, Delhi and undivided Punjab before Independence. Its unique setting — surrounded by thick deodar forests and connected by a spectacular haulage way trolley to Barot — made it a tourist attraction as well as an engineering marvel.

But for the past 15 years, Punjab has stopped investing in repairs and upkeep. Turbines, haulage way trolleys, winch stations, and heritage bungalows now lie abandoned. The trolley service between Headgear and Barot has been non-functional for over a decade and a half, with its ropes and pulleys rusting away. Even the historic ropeway built by the British to transport heavy equipment is collapsing, its cabins and wheels reduced to junk.

What remains today is a ruined powerhouse, decaying under neglect, waiting for a court’s decision. When the handover to Himachal finally happens, it risks inheriting ruins rather than a heritage powerhouse.