Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday passed a ‘unanimous’ resolution, in the absence of the Congress legislators, declaring the Himachal Pradesh Government’s move to levy water cess on hydel power projects as “illegal” while seeking its “immediate withdrawal”.
 
The resolution recommended to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led State Government to request the Centre to prevail upon the Congress-ruled hill state to withdraw the proposed move maintaining that it was “in violation of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956”.
 
While the members of the principal opposition, Congress stayed away, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and BSP members backed the resolution.
 
Moving the resolution on the last day of budget session, the state’s Water Resources Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer condemned the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh government for the “senseless move”.
 
Also questioning the absence of the Congress MLAs from the House, Hayer said: “They ran away because this resolution was coming up in the state assembly against the decision of their party’s government in HP.”
 
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, endorsing the resolution, said that it is a major setback for the interests of Punjab and its people. “Contrary to its name – Punjab (the land of five rivers) is today facing serious challenges in terms of potable water. Himachal’s fresh move is a fresh attack on the waters of the state which cannot be tolerated,” he said.
 
Taking the Congress government in Himachal to cudgels, Mann categorically said that this move of the Sukhu government is “illegitimate” and “irrational”. He said that Punjab has legitimate right over the river waters and no one can snatch it from the state. The state will not pay even a single penny for the water flowing through its land, he added.
 
Mann, questioning the absence of the Congress leaders from the assembly when the state was deliberating a serious issue concerning the waters of the state, Mann said that these leaders have always backstabbed Punjab but the State Government will leave no stone unturned to solve all the issues being confronted by Punjab.
 
Advising the Himachal Government to refrain from taking such steps which will dilute the powers of the states, Mann said that the Centre already wants a chance to meddle in the affairs of the states; and by racking up such issues, the Himachal Pradesh government is giving a chance to the Union Government to unnecessarily intervene in matters pertaining to the state.
 
Notably, on March 16, Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha had passed ‘The Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Bill’ to repeal the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Ordinance, promulgated by the Governor on February 15, 2023. With this move, the Congress Government in Himachal aims to mop up Rs 4,000 crore revenue from the cess on hydropower from all 172 hydel projects in the State.
 
The move drew a sharp reaction from Punjab as hydro projects of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in Himachal would also come under its purview.
 
As per the resolution, the House expressed its concern about the ordinance to impose water cess on hydro power projects for non-consumptive use of water for power generation.