Dispute between 2 states: It’s time for Punjab govt to hand over Shanan power project to Himachal, says CM Sukhu

“With the lease period having expired, the Himachal Pradesh government now rightly deserves to take over the project,” the CM added.

The dispute between the two states is related to the power house which was constructed in 1925 under a lease agreement executed between Raja Joginder Sen, the ruler of the then Mandi state, and Colonel BC Batty, who represented the British government and served as the chief engineer of the undivided Punjab.

Under the agreement, the water for the project was to be utilised from Uhl River, a tributary of Beas River, for generating power for undivided Punjab, Lahore, and Delhi before Independence in return for which the state would receive 500 kW of free electricity.

Sources in the CM office told The Indian Express, “The Punjab government has been at loggerheads with Himachal over staking a claim to the 110-MW project following the expiry of 99-year lease period on March 2 this year. It is for the first time that the CM of one of the two states in question has visited the project site since the expiry of the lease period.”

The Punjab Government has claimed that the Shanan project is “managed and controlled by Punjab” through the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (formerly Punjab State Electricity Board), which was allocated to the state by a central notification issued on May 1, 1967, by the Ministry of Irrigation and Power. Punjab’s legal control over the project, it said, is under the provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, read alongside the 1967 notification.

Refuting Punjab’s claim, Sukhu said, “The Shanan project does not fall under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. The foundation of the Shanan project was laid over a century ago in 1925.”

Although the project is currently operated by the Punjab government, Sukhu said that discussions are underway to transfer control to the Himachal government. The purpose of his visit to Jogindernagar was to assess the current condition of the power house, he added.

The Punjab government had moved the Supreme Court against the Himachal Pradesh government’s attempt to take control of the 110-MW Shanan Hydropower Project from the Punjab government on the expiry of the 99-year lease period.

Himachal Pradesh, in its application filed on September 20, said the suit of the Punjab government was barred by law, does not disclose any cause of action, and is not at all maintainable. The Himachal government said the 1925 agreement was the basis for the construction of the project, the grant of lands and the recognition of rights between the parties. In its application, the Himachal government had submitted that the entire edifice and substratum of Punjab’s case relate to a ‘dispute arising out of a treaty or agreement entered into before the commencement of the Constitution of India’. “It is submitted that a dispute arising from a pre-Constitution treaty or agreement is not amenable to the jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court under Article 131 of the Constitution of India. The instant suit is in the nature of a ‘dispute’ which arises from the Agreement dated 03.03.1925 between the British Government and the Raja of Mandi.”

The application further stated, “The Mandi State was never part of Punjab and was merged into Independent India in 1948, when a Chief Commissioner was appointed for the Province. It is pertinent to mention that Himachal Pradesh became a Part ‘C’ State of the Union of India in 1951, and thereafter, Himachal Pradesh was declared a Union Territory on 01.11.1956. The State of Himachal Pradesh Act, 1970 (‘1970 Act’) was passed by Parliament on 18.12.1970, declaring Himachal Pradesh a sovereign state of the Union of India on 25.01.1971. In view of the above submissions, the plaintiff (Punjab) has no cause of action to claim any right under the 1966 Act or any notification issued under the same.”

The Sukhu government has indicated that it will not extend the lease, owing to strong demands by local residents and political leaders, who claim that since the project uses water resources from one state, its benefits should not flow to another.

In its civil suit, Punjab had stated, “The plaintiff (Punjab) is the owner and is in lawful possession of the Shanan power house project and its extension, along with all its assets.” Additionally, the suit sought the status quo to be maintained and requested a “temporary injunction” to prevent dispossession.

Issuing notices to the Punjab and the Union government, the Supreme Court had said it will first hear on November 8 the Himachal government’s application challenging the maintainability of the suit of the Punjab government under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Civic Procedure Code (CPC).

Meanwhile, Superintending Engineer Rajesh Kumar, Executive Engineer Satish Kumar, Managing Director of Uhal Project Stage-3 Devender Singh, Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan, Superintendent of Police Sakshi Verma, PCC general secretary Pawan Thakur, and Congress state secretary Jeevan Thakur, among others, were presend during the CM’s visit to the power house.