Panjab Withdraws Consent to Deploy CISF at BBMB Dams; Rains in North India

On 7 Jul, the Panjab government withdrew its consent to the Bhakra Beas Management Board for the deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the dams operated by it. This decision comes over a month after the union govt decided to deploy the CISF at the Bhakra dam project amid a tussle between Panjab and neighboring Haryana over the sharing of river waters. Since the Bhakra-Nagal project spans both Himachal Pradesh and Panjab, the Bhakra dam is being guarded by the Himachal Police with 347 policemen against a sanctioned strength of 288. The Nangal dam is currently secured by 146 personnel of the Panjab Police against a sanctioned strength of 83. Meanwhile, on 30 Jun, Chandigarh recorded the highest June rain in decade at 213 mm; it was 37% above normal. The water level in Sukhna lake has touched 1,158 ft; this prompted the authorities to open two of the three floodgates. In Panjab, the India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for heavy rain and thunderstorms for the entire east Panjab from Hoshiarpur to Rajpura. In Himachal Pradesh, the Beas river is in spate. The death toll from cloudbursts and flash flood-related incidents in the Mandi district rose to 11 with the recovery of six additional bodies. Concurrently, the Public Action Committee (PAC) has filed a contempt petition against the concerned Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) officials and directors of the Bahadur Ke Road Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) for intentionally violating National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) orders on effluent discharge into Buddha Nullah. While the original petition was filed at NGT against CETPs at Bahadur Ke Road, Tajpur Road, and Focal Point, the reason for this contempt petition is that Bahadur Ke Road CETP received a separate environment compensation in 2014, which mandated Zero Liquid Discharge—a condition it consistently failed to meet. PAC says, all three CETPs are funded by union and state govts yet have failed to honor mandatory conditions due to the active connivance of PPCB officials (earlier coverage).