The issue of lifting water from the Ali Khad Jal Yojana, located on the border of Bilaspur and Solan districts, echoed strongly in the Legislative Assembly, with the opposition BJP staging a walkout in protest. BJP MLA Randhir Sharma stated that he had sought permission to raise this matter but it was not included in the agenda. Sharma alleged that lathis were wielded against him and elected representatives, resulting in injuries to two fingers. Despite this, no FIR is being registered regarding the matter. He accused that the Bilaspur-Solan border has been turned into a border between India and Pakistan. He questioned why work is being carried out on the instructions of some super CM when the CM and Deputy CM have ordered to stop the project.
A committee has been formed on the CM’s orders, but work is not being stopped by the contractor. Sharma said that a protest has been ongoing for 22 days regarding lifting water from Ali Khad, which was raised not overnight but was also discussed in a planning meeting. He also met with the Chief Minister on this issue along with a delegation. A committee has been formed to investigate the matter on the Chief Minister’s orders, but the work is not being halted by the contractor. He alleged that various sections, including dacoity, have been registered against him by the police. He said that the construction of a new project on this khad would affect 31 schemes of Bilaspur district, including 24 drinking water and 7 irrigation schemes. He said that instead of lifting water from Ali Khad, there are alternatives to lift water from the Kol Dam, which the government should consider. He demanded the withdrawal of the filed FIR by the Chief Minister’s intervention on this matter.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan said that local representatives should contribute to maintaining peace on this issue. He said that if the contractor continues to work after the Chief Minister’s order to stop work, action will be taken.
Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, while facilitating, said that he is permitting discussion in the House on Friday under Rule 62 on this issue. There has been no response from the government on this yet.