Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday called on Union Power minister R K Singh in Delhi and urged him to issue necessary directions to the Punjab government to hand over the Shanan hydel project to Himachal Pradesh as its 99-year lease period is expiring in March next year.
He also apprised Singh about Himachal Pradesh’s share in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and demanded a 12 per cent water royalty for the state. Due to various projects launched by the BBMB, Sukhu said, many people were displaced and subsequently rehabilitated, but a segment of oustees were not compensated even after fifty years. Reiterating the state’s long-pending demand, he requested that the Himachal Pradesh government be allowed to impose free power royalty on all commissioned projects of the BBMB.
The Chief Minister also updated the Union minister about the several initiatives that his government have taken to make Himachal Pradesh a green energy state and urged him to provide incentives, including tax benefits for green hydrogen production, in order to boost the production of green energy in the state.
