Shimla, Nov 7 (PTI) Hailing the Supreme Court verdict in the BBMB arrears case, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh on Saturday said that the decision came in the state’s favour on account of the “tough” stance his government took during discussions on the Kishau Dam project.
Sukhu said that during meetings with the Union power minister and officials concerned, he had consistently raised the issue of dues arising from Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) projects and made it clear that the rights of Himachal in the matter must be resolved before any further progress was made on the Kishau Dam Project.
He said Himachal asserted that it would not share the cost of the 440-MW Kishau Dam project and the Haryana government assured that it would file an affidavit in the apex court in favour of Himachal for the release of arrears of its power share from BBMB projects.
Ruling in favour of Himachal, the Supreme Court on Friday said the hill state will get 11,973 MU of electricity from Punjab and Haryana over 20 years. The arrangement will be as per a 2011 apex court verdict settling power dues arising out of Bhakra Nangal and Beas hydro projects since 1966 at the rate of 7.19 per cent.
Talking to media persons here, Sukhu claimed that the case of arrears, which was pending for the past 15 years, would have taken many more years to decide in case the government had not pursued the case vigorously in the top court.
He said that the state government is exploring a better price to sell the electricity received from the BBMB. In case the electricity is sold at the rate of Rs. 6 per unit, the state could earn around Rs. 500 crore, but the government is working towards securing a better power agreement which could increase the revenue to approximately Rs 1,000 crore.
The chief minister said that the state government was moving ahead with the aim of making Himachal Pradesh self-reliant and expressed confidence that Himachal Pradesh would become the most prosperous state in the country by 2032. PTI BPL AMJ
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