First CISF contingent to reach BBMB's Nangal township in a month

With the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) depositing Rs 8.5 crore with the Union Home Ministry for the deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the first contingent of the force is likely to reach Nangal township in a month, sources said.

The BBMB management has reportedly ordered its officials to expedite the work of renovating houses for the CISF contingent at Nangal.

The BBMB decision to deploy the CISF in the Nangal area has evoked mixed reactions from locals and political leaders. While some say the CISF deployment will revive the town’s economy, others maintain it will create trouble for the local people who are locked in disputes over the lease of properties in Nangal town.

Minister for Education Harjot Singh Bains, who represents the Anandpur Sahib Assembly constituency, could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.

Former Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Rana KP Singh said the Congress supported the Punjab Government stand against deploying the CISF at Bhakra projects. The state government should take up the issue with the Centre and ensure that the CISF was not deployed at Bhakra projects. The CISF deployment would give the BBMB its own force and it would not be answerable to the Punjab authorities, he added.

Paramjit Singh, former president of the Ropar District Bar Association, said the BBMB gave properties on lease to settle people in Nangal town while the Bhakra project was coming up. People have made alterations in those properties according to their needs. The BBMB has now started eviction proceedings against them.

The courts have ordered eviction of residents in around 100 cases, while thousands of petitions are still pending. Earlier, due to the intervention of local political leaders, the police and the administration did not cooperate with the BBMB to get those properties vacated. However, after the CISF deployment, the BBMB would not require the Punjab Police help to get such properties vacated.

Most of the Nangal town is settled on properties leased out by the BBMB. The state government’s intervention was helping the people retain those properties despite court orders for eviction, he said.