Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir on Saturday reached an agreement to resolve various pending issues relating to Shahpur Kandi Dam Project, proposed to be built downstream Ranjit Sagar Dam (Thein Dam) on river Ravi.
A spokesperson of the State Government said that the Secretary level agreement was facilitated by the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, which is also co-signatory to the agreement at New Delhi.
Hailing the development, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal stated that Punjab has always stood for equitable distribution of water resources between the Riparian States and he looked forward to receiving the formal approval of the Jammu & Kashmir Government soon.
The Punjab team was led by Additional Chief Secretary ( Revenue & Irrigation) KBS Sidhu, while Secretary, Irrigation J&K Saurabh Bhagat, represented the Government of Jammu & Kashmir. Negotiations were conducted in the presence of Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Water Resources, Amarjit Singh while Chief Secretary Jammu & Kashmir BR Sharma and Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir Bharat Vyas participated through the Video Conferencing.
The Shahpur Kandi Dam Project had been envisaged under the 1979 agreement between the then Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal and the J&K Chief Minister, Sheikh Abdullah.
Following the completion of the Ranjit Sagar Dam, Shahpur Kandi Dam project was declared a National project in the year 2009 and the work commenced on the site in April, 2013. However, on account of various unresolved issues, the work was halted at the site at the instance of Jammu & Kashmir Government.
The latest agreement essentially reaffirms the 1979 agreement and also approves the crest levels of 398.40 m as agreed between the Chief Engineers of the two States. Punjab Government agreed to pay the pending land acquisition enhancement claims expeditiously, as soon as they were approved by the Statutory Authorities under the land Acquisition Act.