The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPF) wrote to Union Power Minister RK Singh on Tuesday seeking scrapping of the amended rules for selection of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) members and the process for appointment of member (Irrigation) and member (Power) be expedited. AIPEF spokesperson VK Gupta said that the post of member of Irrigation is lying vacant for the past 20 months, since the incumbent was repatriated back to Haryana. The Haryana government had sent a panel of three irrigation engineers for selection but nothing has been done till date. Chairman BBMB is holding the additional charge of member (Irrigation). In the case of Member (Power), the extended six month term expires on September 27, and the selection process has not been started yet. Past experience shows that the procedure for selecting and appointing the member takes at least six months to one year, he added. The letter mentions that BBMB was constituted under Punjab Re-organization Act 1966, and it specifies that the BBMB management board shall consist of a whole-time chairman and two whole-time members to be appointed by the Centre. Punjab and Haryana are the biggest stakeholders of BBMB with maximum share in irrigation and power benefits. As a long-standing convention, Member (Power) was drawn from Punjab, while Member (Irrigation) from Haryana and chairman is appointed from a stakeholder partner states. However, under Section 97 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, the Center on February 23 notified changes in the rules for appointment of full-time members of BBMB. The notification was tabled in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and several MPs from Punjab and Haryana have filed their objections. Gupta added that the new criteria make it difficult for aspirants from Punjab to get selected. Under the amended rules, the two posts have been opened up for candidates from all states.
