Punjab House passes resolution against CISF deployment at Bhakra-Nangal project
Moving the resolution on the second day of the special session of the Vidhan Sabha, Cabinet Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal said Punjab had re-examined the issue and conveyed to the BBMB on May 27 and July 4 its strong reservations against the deployment of CISF.
2 min read
During the discussion on the resolution, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann termed the BBMB a “white elephant” and said it needs to be reconstituted. The Punjab Assembly Friday unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the Centre’s proposed deployment of CISF personnel at the Bhakra-Nangal dam project, and said if the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) went ahead with the move, the state government would not bear any financial burden arising out of it.
Moving the resolution on the second day of the special session of the Vidhan Sabha, Cabinet Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal said Punjab had re-examined the issue and conveyed to the BBMB on May 27 and July 4 its strong reservations against the deployment of CISF.
Amid a standoff between Punjab and Haryana over the sharing of waters from the Nangal Dam, the Centre in May this year had sanctioned a contingent of 296 armed CISF personnel for providing a counter-terrorist security cover to the project — a move that was opposed by the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state.
If the CISF personnel are deployed, Punjab, being a partner state of BBMB, will also have to bear part of the cost.
During the discussion on the resolution, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann termed the BBMB a “white elephant” and said it needs to be reconstituted. “Punjab has 60 per cent share in BBMB, yet it moved court against us for not sharing water with Haryana. Deploying CISF will cost `97,000 per head, which amounts to more than Rs 43 crore annually. We will not bear this cost,” he said.
In its communication in May, the Union Ministry had asked the BBMB to provide boarding, lodging and other logistics for the CISF personnel. The communication quoted a security deposit of `2,90,100 per head and asked the BBMB to transfer `8,58,69,600 (for 296 personnel) to CISF headquarters.
The Leader of Opposition, Congress’ Partap Bajwa, supported the resolution but asked the government to also bring a resolution against deployment of CISF at the secretariat. “All the ministers sit in the secretariat, which is guarded by CISF. Why should they allow CISF to guard the installation. We should have Punjab Police guard it,” he said.
Opposition members including Shiromani Akali Dal’s Gurpreet Singh Ayali, and BJP’s Jangi Lal Mahajan also supported the resolution.
You May Like
Photos
