Himachal Pradesh Adds Spokes To Federal Wheel

The hill state of Himachal Pradesh has given a new dimension to some of the issues which were till now largely contentious among its neighbours of Punjab and Haryana. If looked at through the lens of federalism and also political impact, the moves are set to have long term ramifications.

With a Congress government in Himachal Pradesh under Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regime in power in Punjab under Bhagwant Mann, and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) government led by Manohar Lal Khattar in power in Haryana, it will be interesting to see how these issues play out at inter party and intra party levels in the days to come particularly when the Lok Sabha elections are around the corner and Haryana Assembly polls to follow a few months later.

The issues being raised by Himachal Pradesh pertain to the state’s share in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, recovery of its share in the Bhakra Beas Management Board and the latest move to generate revenue by imposing a water cess on utilisation of water by companies generating power in the state.

If one looks at these issues one by one, Punjab has long been airing its claim over Chandigarh. Chandigarh continues to have a distinct identity of being a Union Territory and is also the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

Over the last couple of months Himachal Pradesh’s deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has been saying that the state government will make all possible efforts to get its 7.19 per cent share in Chandigarh city. He has reportedly been contesting that according to the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 that HP should get its share.

The issue of recovery of Himachal’s share in power generated by the Bhakra Nangal project in particular is an interesting one. It was in 1996 that political leader Kul Rakesh Pant, who later joined the Congress, and his associates had drawn the attention of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to the issue. After due deliberations, Himachal had approached the Supreme Court on the issue on June 5, 1996.

According to Pant, “In its judgement on September 27, 2011 the Supreme Court had directed to raise Himachal Pradesh’s share in Bhakra Nangal project from 2.5% to 7.19% with effect from November 1, 1966.

“The Court had also raised Himachal Pradesh’s share in Beas 1 project from 15 megawatt (MW) to 5.752% from the date of commissioning. It had also raised the state’s share from nil to 2.984% in the Beas II project. The Court had subsequently rejected the review petition filed by Punjab and Haryana against its order on March 31, 2012.”

Pant told The Citizen that these arrears amount to Rs 4,500 crore and can be of great help at a time when the state is financially stretched. He had recently written to Sukhu asking him to take personal interest in the matter. He disclosed that the matter is again in the Supreme Court over the mode of payment to be made.

Meanwhile, Sukhu recently met R.K. Singh who is the Union Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy. He had asserted that the BBMB should be directed to pay the arrears to the state government immediately.

But the issue that has seen the fireworks recently was the introduction and passing of the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Bill 2023 in the Himachal Pradesh assembly that followed an ordinance in February. Through the move the state government aims to generate a revenue of Rs 4,000 crore.

The government has reportedly been pointing that the law on cess on power production was already in place in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand. It has also underlined that the proposed cess will have no bearing on the general public.

Former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur reacted saying, “We do not oppose the move but how it will be practical and what mechanism will be adopted. Such acts have been in place in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand but have not been implemented.”

He further said that the move while generating revenue also has a flip side as the move will desist establishment of new mini and other hydro projects in the state.

Meanwhile, Onkar Shad who is the state secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) said, “We have been seeking such a move for several years. When there can be a cess on coal and minerals it can also be there on water which is one of the natural resources of Himachal Pradesh which does not have other sources of income. Such decentralisation of resources only strengthens federalism.”

But the Punjab and Haryana Assemblies were quick to denounce Himachal’s move and passed resolutions on the issue. A strong reaction came from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann who asserted that water is Punjab’s legitimate right as per Riparian law and the move is a major setback for the interests of Punjab and its people.

He said contrary to its name, Punjab (the land of five rivers) is today facing serious challenges in terms of potable water and the fresh move of Himachal Pradesh government is a fresh attack on the waters of the state which cannot be tolerated.

Terming the move of the Sukhu government as ‘illegitimate and irrational’, he said this move of the Congress government is aimed at dividing the country. He also questioned the absence of the Congress leaders of Punjab from the Assembly when the state was deliberating a serious issue concerning the waters of the state.

He advised the Himachal government to refrain from taking such steps which will dilute the powers of the states and pointed that the centre already wants a chance to meddle in the affairs of the states.

Haryana CM Khattar on the other hand contested the move reportedly saying, “The levy of water cess by the government of Himachal Pradesh is against the provision of the Inter State Water Dispute Act, 1956. The state of Haryana through the Bhakra Beas Management Projects is already liberal to release 7.19 per cent of electricity of the composite share of Haryana and Punjab to Himachal Pradesh.”

He also asked the centre to prevail upon the Himachal Pradesh government to withdraw the ordinance saying that it is in violation of the Inter State Water Dispute Act.

However, there is also a line of thought in Punjab that Himachal’s move can pave the way to strengthen Punjab’s claims on absolute rights on its river waters and economic interests on the water that it shares with its neighbouring states of Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, Sukhu while responding to the resolution passed by Punjab and Haryana governments said that Himachal’s move doesn’t violate any treaty and will not impact the two states.

In his meeting with R.K. Singh last month, he had urged the Union Minister to enhance Himachal’s share in the power projects which were commissioned 25 years back and have completed their loan repayments. He said that state share must be enhanced from 12 % to 15 %.

He had stated that around 12,000 MW hydro power potential in the State was yet to be harnessed. He said hydro power development is the key engine to the economic growth of Himachal as it makes a direct and significant contribution to the economy in terms of revenue generation, employment opportunities and enhancing the quality of life.

He had also stated that his government was mulling to make agreements with power projects in stages. Last week on the occasion of World Water Day, he had called for a behavioural change in water usage and its management.