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Supreme Court settles Himachal's Bhakra-Beas power dues with Punjab, Haryana

By CAShorts DeskPublished Source: The Hindu (6 Nov 2026); Bhakra Beas Management Board (bbmb.gov.in).

Supreme Court settles Himachal's Bhakra-Beas power dues with Punjab, Haryana
Illustration (AI-generated)

The Supreme Court on 6 November 2026 accepted the Centre's cashless plan to settle Himachal Pradesh's power dues from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) projects. Punjab and Haryana will give Himachal 11,973 million units (MU) of electricity over 20 years. The arrangement implements the court's 2011 verdict, which fixed Himachal's share at 7.19%.

Syllabus: GS2 · Federalism & Local Government; GS2 · Separation of Powers; Prelims · Polity & Governance

Why this matters for UPSC

GS2 federalism: the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 and the Bhakra Beas Management Board. Prelims can ask the board's origin and partners; Mains, settling inter-State resource disputes.

Why it matters

A family or a factory in Himachal Pradesh draws power from the State's grid, and that grid now gets an extra flow of electricity every year for two decades. The State gains supply without waiting for cash that Punjab and Haryana might struggle to find in one go. The two paying States spread the burden over time instead of facing a single large bill. The case shows how a State reorganisation can leave shared assets in dispute for generations. It also shows the Union Government brokering a practical way out of a court decree left unimplemented for years.

Prelims pointers

  • The Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, signed between India and Pakistan, allotted the three eastern rivers, the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi, to India for exclusive use.
  • A Master Plan drawn up for irrigation, power generation and flood control on the eastern rivers has the Bhakra and Beas projects as its major part.
  • Before Punjab was reorganised, the Bhakra and Beas projects were set up jointly by Punjab and Rajasthan.
  • The Beas Construction Board built the Beas project works; the Bhakra Beas Management Board runs, maintains and operates the completed Bhakra and Beas projects.
  • The BBMB regulates water and power from the Bhakra Nangal and Beas projects to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Chandigarh.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to the Bhakra Beas Management Board, consider the following statements:

1. The Government of India transferred the Beas project works to the Bhakra Management Board on their completion.

2. The Beas Construction Board took over the operation and maintenance of the Bhakra Nangal Project in October 1967.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer

Answer: (a) 1 only

Answer: (a) 1 only. The Beas works passed to the Bhakra board; the Beas Construction Board never ran Bhakra Nangal.

Statement 1: correct. Under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, the Centre moved the completed Beas works from the Beas Construction Board to the Bhakra Management Board.

Statement 2: incorrect. The Bhakra Management Board, not the Beas Construction Board, took over the Bhakra Nangal Project from 1 October 1967.

Eliminate: statement 2 swaps the builder of the Beas works for the board that runs the dams. Out: (b), (c).

Eliminate: statement 1 matches the transfer that led to the 1976 renaming. Out: (d).

Trap: Swapped attribution. Two boards with similar names are swapped: the construction board built the Beas works, the management board operates both projects.

Remember: The Beas Construction Board built; the Bhakra Beas Management Board runs the completed projects.

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