Punjab withdraws consent to deploy CISF at BBMB dams

The Punjab Government on Monday withdrew its consent to the Bhakra Beas Management Board for the deployment of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the dams operated by it.

Advertisement

The decision was taken at a Punjab Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here.

This comes over a month after the Centre decided to deploy the central force at the Bhakra dam project amid a tussle between Punjab and neighbouring Haryana over the sharing of river waters.

An in-principle approval had been given by the previous Congress government to deploy the central force at the dam on July 23, 2021, when Capt Amarinder Singh was the Chief Minister.

Later during Charanjit Singh Channi’s tenure, a letter was issued by the state Finance Department on October 21, 2021, saying it would bear the expenses of this security.

The Mann Cabinet’s decision today is aimed at ensuring that the Centre does not deploy its forces at the dams. The CISF had made a move to create 296 posts for induction in the security wing of the BBMB in May, when the dispute between Punjab and Haryana over the allocation of Bhakra waters to the latter was raging.

The Centre had used this in-principle approval given by the previous Congress government to initiate the process of the deployment of the CISF at Bhakra and Nangal dams.

The Nangal dam is currently secured by 146 personnel of the Punjab Police against a sanctioned strength of 83. The Bhakra dam is being guarded by the Himachal Police with 347 policemen being deployed against a sanctioned strength of 288.

Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said the consent was being withdrawn as the Punjab Police were a valiant force and capable of securing the dam.

“Moreover, the dam is at quite a distance from the International Border with Pakistan and there is no need for central security forces,” he said, adding that a resolution would be passed in the special Vidhan Sabha session against the move to deploy the CISF at the BBMB dams.

Meanwhile, a meeting was held between officials of Punjab and Haryana to smoothen out the issue of the sharing of river waters ahead of the meeting of the Chief Ministers of both states convened by Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, on July 9.

This will be the fourth round of talks between the two Chief Ministers to resolve the long-standing Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal dispute.

Sources say officials of two states reportedly discussed ways to resolve the issue of water allocation between the two states from the Bhakra Main Line (BML).

Chief Secretaries of both states — KAP Sinha of Punjab and Anurag Rastogi of Haryana — were present in the meeting held at the Haryana Civil Secretariat. This meeting was held on the directions of the North Zone Council.