Shimla: Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-ruled Punjab are at loggerheads over the 110-megawatt British-era Shanan Power House.
The hydroelectric powerhouse is located on Uhl — a tributary of the Beas River — in Jogindernagar in Himachal’s Mandi district.
While Punjab claims ownership of the powerhouse, which is controlled by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), the land for it was given on a 99-year lease before independence.
At the time of the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, ownership of the plant was given to Punjab by the central government. The final decision was taken on 17 April, 1967, and notified on 1 May the same year.
According to media reports, however, Himachal Pradesh informed Punjab earlier this year that it would not renew the land lease, which is set to expire in March 2024. It had also pointed out that the plant was in a deplorable condition due to lack of maintenance by Punjab.
In a bid to take back the facility, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has also taken up the matter with the Centre. Sources in the Union power ministry told ThePrint that the matter has been sent to the law ministry for its opinion and a decision on the issue will be taken once it is received.
The CM met power minister R.K. Singh in Kinnaur on 8 June and gave a detailed presentation on the Shanan power house. “We have apprised the Union power minister about all aspects of the Shanan plant. The power house is with Punjab as the land was given on lease,” Sukhu had told the media after the meeting.
However, a senior official privy to the meeting told ThePrint that Sukhu had asserted to the minister that Himachal would not renew the land lease for the plant in favour of Punjab.
He added that “the CM has directed officials to look into all aspects of this matter to present a strong case before the Centre once again”.
Prior to the meeting, Sukhu had told the media that the power house could generate revenue worth Rs 200 crore. “We are ready even for a legal battle to take back the Shanan project,” he said.
A senior PSPCL official, however, told ThePrint Thursday that the Centre had clarified that Punjab owns the power house.
“There is no dispute, Punjab owns this project. We have chalked out a plan and approved funds for the upkeep of this important project. The objection raised by Himachal Pradesh (over ownership) stands clarified by the Government of India vide letter dated 22 March, 1972, reaffirming the allotment of Shanan Power House in favour of Punjab,” he said.
That the plant belongs to Punjab was also reiterated by state power minister Harbhajan Singh when he visited the site for inspection in April this year. He had also assured the local PSPCL administration that funds-related issues would be resolved.
“There is no dispute as the project belongs to Punjab,” he had told the local media.
ThePrint has reached Union power secretary Alok Kumar on email for comment on how the centre plans to resolve the issue. The article will be updated once a response is received.
The developments come in the wake of Himachal passing a Bill imposing water cess on hydropower projects within its limit in March this year.
Political analyst Mohinder Pal Singh Rana told ThePrint that Himachal had first passed a resolution to take back the power house from Punjab in 1988.
“Successive Himachal governments have tried to take the project back from Punjab but failed. Now, the state is waiting for the lease period to get over,” he said.
‘No legal locus standi’
This January, the PSPCL reportedly submitted a Rs 133-crore plan for the Shanan power project for three financial years to Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The commission observed in an 11 January communication that the PSPCL had also submitted a clarification on the ownership of the plant. “It has been submitted that the 110-MW Shanan Hydro Power Project situated in Himachal Pradesh is lawfully owned & managed by the Punjab Electricity Department (now PSPCL) and is not on lease,” read the communication, seen by ThePrint.
The PSPCL had also informed the commission in December 2022 that the Centre had issued a clarification notification on 22 March, 1972, in which the claim of the Himachal Pradesh government on the Shanan plant was rejected.
“Himachal Pradesh has no legal locus standi for challenging the gazette notifications dated May 1, 1967, and March 22, 1972, which were issued by the central government itself and have attained finality. Therefore, there is no plan to revert or transfer Shanan Power House to Himachal,” PSPCL had informed Punjab’s power regulator on 16 December, 2022.
History of the Shanan plant
Commissioned in 1932, Shanan Power House was constructed by British engineer Colonel B.C. Batty in 1925, under a 99-year lease deed executed between erstwhile Mandi state ruler Joginder Sen and then the Government of Punjab.
According to government records seen by ThePrint, the original agreement signed on 3 March, 1925, which was further supplemented by agreements in 1931 and 1965, stated that Mandi state was to provide the land and water of the Uhl tributary in lieu of 500KW free electricity and Rs 3.5 per KW royalty once in the year.
The power house, initially a 48-MW one, was inaugurated by the Viceroy of India on 10 March, 1933.
“Himachal has time and again raised the issue of ownership of the project at different platforms but failed to secure the plant, which is now a profit-making entity,” a state water department official told ThePrint.
Former Himachal chief minister Shanta Kumar hailed Sukhu’s efforts in trying to get the plant back to Himachal. In a statement issued on 31 May, the BJP leader said “it was great injustice to the people of Himachal Pradesh that the state has not got the project back”.
“Himachal should have got the project back in 1967 as per the provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act. I took up this matter with then PM Morarji Desai in 1978 and he had agreed to it,” he claimed.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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