Shimla: The Shanan Energy Home has been a serious bone of competition between Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, with each states claiming possession of it after the 99-year lease of the British-era hydel energy plant expired final week. However the Centre’s 1 March directive to keep up “established order” has left Himachal excessive and dry, because the undertaking will stay with Punjab for now.
The 110-megawatt hydroelectric powerhouse is positioned on Uhl — a tributary of the Beas River — in Jogindernagar in Himachal’s Mandi district. It’s at the moment managed by Punjab State Energy Company Restricted (PSPCL). It’s a profit-making entity, producing a income of Rs 200 crore every year. If cash-strapped Himachal will get this undertaking, it will be the one of many highest income producing authorities entities within the state.
The Centre’s directive got here after the Punjab authorities approached the Supreme Courtroom with a plea to make sure that the hydropower undertaking stays with it even after the expiry of the lease. Himachal Pradesh in the meantime had been ready for the lease to run out, eager to say the Rs 1,600 crore plant that generates Rs 200 crore income every year, after a number of failed makes an attempt up to now.
The ability plant was constructed in 1925 on land leased to the British, when Mandi was a princely state. The 99-year lease deed was executed between erstwhile ruler of Mandi state Joginder Sen and Col BC Battey, a British official, in 1925.
After the 1966 reorganisation of states, when Himachal was a Union territory, the undertaking was given to Punjab. When Himachal turned a full-fledged state in 1971, the demand handy over the undertaking to Himachal gained momentum.
Himachal Pradesh has contended that the land belongs to it and your complete undertaking is inside its boundaries, and it was wrongly given to Punjab.
The Supreme Courtroom has listed the matter for 8 April. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu instructed the media Tuesday that the state will battle each battle to win the Shanan energy undertaking.
Prabodh Saxena, Himachal Pradesh chief secretary, instructed ThePrint, “We wish it (Shanan energy plant) again. That’s our one-point agenda. We now have represented our case earlier than the Union authorities many instances. If the matter goes to the court docket, we are going to appraise it with the details.”
In the meantime, Punjab Energy Minister Harbhajan Singh mentioned there was “no dispute” over this undertaking. “Punjab owns Shanan Energy Home. We had been getting studies of poor maintenance of the undertaking. Our authorities has made a plan to revamp this undertaking. I additionally visited the powerhouse final 12 months,” he instructed ThePrint.
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The tug-of-war over Shanan Energy Home
Himachal Pradesh claims that the ability undertaking was “erroneously” given to Punjab in Might 1967 whereas notifying apportionment of belongings, rights and liabilities below the provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.
In June final 12 months, Sukhu had apprised the Union energy minister R.Okay. Singh that the state wouldn’t renew the land lease. Each had an in depth deliberation over this difficulty at Kinnaur in June 2023.
On the chief minister’s instructions, the state income division initiated the method of making ready income papers to strengthen its declare over the undertaking and despatched a report back to the state.
A Himachal income division official instructed ThePrint {that a} recent report was additionally despatched to the Centre simply earlier than the expiry of the lease. The report acknowledged that 736 bigha of land is within the possession of the PSPCL and the proprietor of the land is the Himachal Pradesh authorities, in accordance with the 1961 income settlement data.
A senior authorities official instructed ThePrint that Himachal Pradesh had hopes from the central authorities particularly after the CM met with the Union energy minister. “We now have raised this matter nicely earlier than the expiry of the lease time period. The Centre ought to have resolved the matter. The Centre’s order to keep up the established order shouldn’t be useful for the state. The Union ministry ought to have resolved the problem earlier than the expiry of the lease,” the official added.
Former Himachal chief minister Shanta Kumar has termed the delay within the allocation of this undertaking to Himachal a “nice injustice”.
In accordance with the Punjab authorities, the undertaking was allotted to Punjab on 1 Might 1967 by the Union Ministry of Irrigation and Energy. “The union authorities has already rejected Himachal’s declare of taking up the property primarily based on the 1967 notification,” a senior Punjab authorities official instructed ThePrint.
“Himachal Pradesh has been elevating objections over the undertaking possession for a very long time and it stands clarified by the Authorities of India vide letter dated 22 March 1972, reaffirming the allotment of Shanan Energy Home in favour of Punjab,” the official added.
“Himachal ought to have gotten the undertaking again in 1967 as per the provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act. I took up this matter with the then PM Morarji Desai in 1978 and he had agreed to it,” he mentioned.
The PSPCL too maintains that the undertaking belongs to Punjab.
A senior PSPCL official instructed ThePrint that the Centre had turned down Himachal’s effort to reclaim this undertaking earlier. “PSPCL has constructed the 100-megawatt Bassi hydropower undertaking in lieu of Shanan,” the official additional mentioned, including that the matter is now subjudice.
The official added, “As per the central notification dated 1 Might 1967, Punjab has authorized management over the undertaking. Punjab now has sought a everlasting prohibitory injunction by way of its petition within the Supreme Courtroom.”
Whereas submitting a Rs 133-crore plan for the Shanan Energy Home to the Punjab Electrical energy Regulatory Fee in January this 12 months, the Punjab authorities acknowledged that Himachal Pradesh has no authorized locus standi for difficult the gazette notifications dated 1 Might 1967 and 22 March 1972, which had been issued by the central authorities. “Subsequently, there isn’t any plan to revert or switch Shanan Energy Home to Himachal Pradesh,” it additional mentioned.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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