The Himachal Pradesh government has intensified its efforts to secure its “legitimate rights” over the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday.

“The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, clearly mentions Himachal Pradesh’s entitlement to its share of 7.19 percent in Chandigarh but the state has been deprived of this right since the very beginning,” Sukhu said in a statement and called it “a grave injustice to the people of Himachal”.

Now, the Himachal Pradesh government is raising its voice on all appropriate platforms to secure its legitimate rights, including the entitlement of a 7.19 percent share in Chandigarh, he added. Sukhu mentioned that a Cabinet sub-committee has been formed to look into all aspects of the issue and file a report.

The state government will decide its course of action after taking into consideration the findings and recommendations of the report, the chief minister said.  He added that the state government is exploring all options to recover its power share arrears as well.

The Supreme Court in November 2011 granted a power share of 7.19 percent to Himachal Pradesh in all Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) projects, he said. Himachal receives its share at present but arrears for 13,066 million units of power have not yet been released, he claimed.

The state has also demanded to raise its power share in all BBMB projects in Himachal Pradesh as the state’s natural resources are being used to generate electricity. The chief minister said the current distribution from BBMB power projects allocates 51.8 percent to Punjab, 37.51 percent to Haryana and 7.19 percent to Himachal Pradesh.

The partner states should consider liberally enhancing the share for Himachal Pradesh as thousands of families were uprooted and thousands of hectares of land submerged for construction of these projects, Sukhu said.