The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which has played a defining role in India’s Green Revolution and continues to remain the backbone of irrigation and hydropower management in North India, has completed 51 years of its foundation amid mounting technical, administrative and manpower challenges.
For more than five decades, the BBMB has efficiently managed the Bhakra, Pong and Beas projects that transformed Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan into the country’s food bowl. The regulated release of irrigation water from Bhakra dams helped India achieve food grain self-sufficiency while BBMB’s hydropower projects continue to provide electricity to partner states.
The organisation has long been regarded as one of the country’s most professionally managed technical bodies, with its engineers successfully handling dam safety, flood regulation and power generation operations under difficult conditions. However, officials and retired engineers say the institution is now under severe stress due to shortage of manpower, ageing infrastructure and rising inter-state disputes.
One of the most serious concerns before the BBMB is acute staff shortage. According to data placed before Parliament last year, more than 64 per cent of Punjab’s sanctioned posts in the BBMB were lying vacant. Out of 4,918 sanctioned posts under Punjab’s quota, only 1,756 posts were filled.
Political leaders and former officials have also pointed to alarming vacancies in technical positions. Data cited during the BBMB controversy last year showed that out of 152 Class-I and II posts in Punjab’s irrigation quota, only 68 posts were filled. In the power wing, 1,345 out of 1,823 posts under Punjab’s quota were lying vacant.
Retired BBMB engineers say the shortage has adversely affected transfer of technical expertise within the organisation. They maintain that hydel power generation and dam management require specialised skills developed over decades of field experience. With experienced engineers retiring and fresh recruitment remaining slow, the chain of institutional knowledge is weakening.
The condition of ageing infrastructure has also emerged as a major concern. The 990-MW Dehar Power Plant, one of BBMB’s most important hydropower assets, has witnessed repeated technical problems over the past few years. The Dehar project, which diverts Beas waters into the Sutlej system and generates hydropower through six 165-MW generating units, is now operating far below capacity due to ageing machinery and technical faults.
The Punjab authorities recently highlighted that power generation at Dehar has been steadily declining since 2022 because of technical faults, silt accumulation and repeated shutdowns. Earlier this year, all generating units reportedly went offline after Units 3 and 4 developed vibration and leakage problems while the remaining units were already under maintenance.
Officials have also warned that only two of the six turbines at the Dehar project were operational for some time, severely affecting diversion of Beas waters into the Sutlej basin. The BBMB has reportedly approached the Central Electricity Authority for consultancy regarding renovation and modernisation of the ageing turbines.
Siltation in reservoirs has emerged as another long-term threat for BBMB projects. Engineers say increasing silt deposits in Bhakra and Pong reservoirs are gradually reducing live storage capacity, which could affect both irrigation management and hydropower generation in coming years.
Administrative issues are also adding to the organisation’s difficulties. Key posts, including those of Member (Power) and Member (Irrigation), have remained at the centre of controversy and vacancy-related disputes. The Centre’s recent amendments to BBMB recruitment rules and disagreements among Punjab, Haryana and other partner states over appointments and management control have further intensified tensions.
Former officials believe that despite these challenges, the BBMB remains one of the country’s most strategic river management institutions. They stress that urgent recruitment, transfer of technical skills, modernisation of old hydropower infrastructure and scientific desiltation measures are necessary to preserve the institution that played a historic role in safeguarding India’s food security.
