BBMB foots ₹8-cr bill, paves way for CISF deployment
Punjab’s legislature has unanimously withdrawn the consent for deployment of CISF and has also clarified that the state would not make payments for deployment of central forces. Now, it is the call of the government of India, said KAP Sinha, Punjab chief secretary
Just two weeks after the Punjab assembly unanimously passed a resolution opposing the deployment of central security forces at Bhakra and other hydel installations, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), it is learnt, has made a payment of ₹8.58 crore to the Union ministry of home affairs for Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deployment.
The CISF is slated to be deployed at critical sites managed by BBMB, including Bhakra and Pong dams, power houses, and the downstream project regulating water supply to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
Confirming the development, top officials of the BBMB, who didn’t wish to be named, said this paves the way for the deployment of central forces at the sites under it.
“The payment was sent on July 25 initially for a period of three months as mandated by the MHA, and later the funds will be sent every month. The payment is the cost of deployment of 296 personnel of the central force,” the official said.
The Union ministry of home, in its communication in May, had asked the BBMB to provide boarding, lodging and other logistics for the CISF personnel. The communication quoted a security deposit of ₹2.90 lakh per head and asked the BBMB to transfer ₹8,58,69,600 (for 296 personnel).
On July 7, the state cabinet withdrew the consent given by the previous Congress government on October 21, 2021, for the deployment of central forces.
On July 11, the Punjab assembly passed a resolution against such a move. The resolution states that the installations are within the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab or Himachal Pradesh and, therefore, it is their duty to maintain law and order and also provide security to these installations as per law.
The resolution, while listing the state’s objections, said that if BBMB still intends to proceed with the deployment of CISF personnel, Punjab will not bear any financial burden arising from such deployment. Water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, who moved the resolution, said that the central government’s move was not about the deployment of security, but about taking control over dams.
Goyal had said that the deployment of CISF is not acceptable to Punjab because the installations of the BBMB have been duly protected over the last almost 70 years by Punjab Police, which is well-versed with the local conditions and has experience of facing all kinds of situations at the borders also. “The deployment of CISF will increase the unnecessary and avoidable financial burden on Punjab and other partner states. Punjab is the major contributor to the expenditure of the BBMB. The state will have to bear this additional expenditure also,” he said, pegging the additional financial implication for the state due to this deployment at ₹49.32 crore per annum.
The deployment of CISF personnel has been a bone of contention between the Centre and the AAP government in the backdrop of the water-sharing dispute between Punjab and Haryana.
The Punjab government had deployed additional police force at the Nangal dam following the BBMB’s decision to release an additional 4,500 cusecs of water for Haryana following a request from the state. BBMB has been since seeking CISF deployment at the dam.
BBMB officials, quoted above, said that in 2010, a chief secretary-level officer of the Punjab government wrote to the Centre for the deployment of central forces at the important installation.
“We have taken legal advice on the matter, and we are empowered to decide on the deployment of central forces. The central forces are slated to arrive by next month, and we are making arrangements for them,” the official added.
While there was no immediate reaction from the present political dispensation, chief minister Bhagwant Mann had termed the BBMB a “white elephant” during discussion in the House and had called for its reconstitution.
“Punjab has a 60% share in BBMB, yet it moves court against us for not sharing water with Haryana. Deploying CISF will cost ₹97,000 per head, which amounts to more than ₹43 crore annually. We will not bear this cost,” CM had said.
Reacting to the development, Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha said that Punjab’s legislature has unanimously withdrawn the consent for deployment of CISF and has also clarified that the state would not make payments for deployment of central forces. “Now it is the call of the government of India,” Sinha said.
