Center seeks comments from states on creating top posts in BBMB for Himachal, Rajasthan
The Chairman and Whole Time Members are permanent employees of BBMB
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The Ministry of Power has sought comments from the four partner states of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on the proposal to increase the number of Whole Time Members of the Board from the two at present from Punjab and Haryana to four for accommodating Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. These are the senior most functionaries of the Board after the Chairman.
“In view of several references/request received from Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh for increasing the number of Whole Time Members in BBMB, the following amendments in Section 79(2)(a) of the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966 has been proposed to increase the number of Whole Time Members in BBMB from existing two to four,” a letter written by the BBMB Desk in the ministry to the governments of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh on October 10 states.
The proposed amendment states that the Board shall consist of a Whole Time Chairman and four Whole Time Members, one each from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh to be appointed by the Central Government in such manner as may be prescribed.
At present, Section 79(2)(a) provides that the Board shall consist of a Whole Time Chairman and two Whole Time Members to be appointed by the central government. Further, a representative each of the governments of the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, to be nominated by the respective state governments, and two representatives of the central government.
The present Chairman is Manoj Tripathi, while the two Whole Time Members are Member (Irrigation) Bijender Singh and Member (Power) Jagjeet Singh, each responsible for BBMB’s primary function of regulating water supply from reservoirs at the Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej and Pong Dam on the Beas, both in Himachal Pradesh, and for power generation at the dams and other power houses located at different places.
The Chairman and Whole Time Members are permanent employees of BBMB. As a convention since BBMB’s inception, one of the members was selected amongst eligible engineers from Punjab and the other from Haryana.
The other six members on the Board are senior bureaucrats from the central and state governments and responsible for projecting their state’s interests and requirements in terms of water and power demand.
Sources said that Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, being partners in BBMB, have for some time now been seeking a greater role in managing the Board’s affairs, though the work that would be allocated to their Whole Time Members, if the two new posts are approved, is yet to be worked out.
On the other hand, the move to create two new posts have been opposed by some sections in Punjab and Haryana on the premise that it would dilute their control, even though their share in the project is more. BBMB. Power and water from BBMB projects is shared amongst the member states in accordance with a fixed formula.
In 2022, a move to amend the rules for appointment of the Chairman and Whole Time Members, which were silent on their state domicile, threw up a controversy. The amended rules specified that any person from any state having the required qualifications could be appointed to these posts.
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