हिंदी
(Says decision will erode Punjab’s constitutional rights over its River waters)
(Appeals to PM to intervene to uphold the federal structure and to remove the impression that the centre was repeatedly discriminating against Punjab)
Chandigarh, November 3, 2025
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prevail upon the Ministry of Power to withdraw its decision to create additional posts of whole-time members from Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the SAD leader appealed to the Prime Minister to stick to the past precedent of restricting the management of BBMB to two whole time members of Punjab and Haryana. She also requested that other decisions which weakened Punjab’s role in the management of BBMB including terminating the conditional representation of officials from Punjab and Haryana in the Board and the Dam Safety Act may also be withdrawn.
Mrs Harsimrat Badal informed the Prime Minister that Punjabis had been agitating over various steps taken in the past which had diluted Punjab’s role in the management of BBMB. “This includes the decision to terminate the conditional representation of Punjab and Haryana in the BBMB through the Bhakra Beas Management Board (Amendment) Rules, 2022 as well as bringing in the Dam Safety Act which will centralize control over the State’s water rights by bringing dams like the Bhakra and Pong under federal jurisdiction”.
Mrs Badal said now to the shock of Punjabis, the Power ministry had taken a decision to appoint two new members to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) from Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. She said this was being done by amending Section 79(2) of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 despite the fact that Rajasthan had no role in the reorganisation of Punjab and was also not a Riparian State.
Asserting that this decision would erode Punjab’s constitutional rights over its river waters and hydel resources and could spell doom for its agrarian economy, Mrs Badal said the Punjab government had already filed a case in the Supreme Court challenging Sections 78 and 79 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act. “As the matter is sub judice the centre should refrain from changing the character of BBMB till the pendency of the case”.
Mrs Badal also asserted that Punjabis were feeling that day after day steps were being taken to dilute State’s rights over its capital – Chandigarh, River waters, religious institutions, Panjab University and now the management of BBMB. She said this systematic discrimination was being done despite the fact that the people of the border State had contributed the most to the security of the nation as well as its food security. She also urged the Prime Minister to remove the overwhelming impression that the centre was discriminating against the State and take urgent steps to uphold the federal structure of the country. “Punjabis are looking up to you to protect their rights. Please do not disappoint them”, she stated in the letter.
Mrs Badal also mentioned how the Punjab Reorganisation Act initially created the Bhakra Management Board to oversee the Bhakra-Nangal Project, but subsequent amendments brought the Beas Project under central control. “This step, taken in 1974, encroached on the authority of Punjab. Even Sections 78 and 79 of the Reorganisation Act are heavily loaded against Punjab and need to be revisited to restore Punjab’s rightful control over its river waters”. EOM
