5TH JUNE ,2023.
Himachal and Punjab appear set for face-off•over Shanan power project (PG 4)(GS 3)
5TH JUNE ,2023.
Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are set for a face-off•as the 99-year lease on the British-era 110 MW Shanan hydropower project situated at Jogindernagar in Mandi district of Himachal Prad esh, presently under the control of the Punjab government, will expire in March 2024. • The issue may snowball into a major controversy between the two neighbouring States as the Himachal Pradesh government has made it clear that it will not renew or extend the lease. Himachal Pradesh wants the project handed over to the State on expiry of the lease period. • The Punjab government, on the other hand, is in no mood to part with its prized project, and is prepared to take legal recourse to retain it. • Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu recently wrote a letter to the Punjab Chief Minister, stating that the 99- year lease given to Punjab by the then ruler of Mandi, Raja Joginder Singh Bahadur, would end on March 2, 2024. • The Himachal government had decided not to renew or extend the lease period of the project, and intends to take over the project, the letter added. • Days after this letter, Mr. Sukhu on May 29 met Union Minister for Power R.K. Singh and asked for the Centre’s intervention, indicating Himachal Pradesh’s serious pursuit of the matter. Centre’s help sought Mr. Sukhu asked the Union Minister to issue “necessary directions to the Punjab government for taking mandatory steps for handing over the project to the State before the expiry of the lease period, which as per the lease agreement would be over in March 2024”