Himachal Pradesh has raised the issue of appointing a whole-time Member in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) from the state, as it is a major stakeholder in the Board’s projects.
The issue was raised at the 22 meeting of the Standing Committee of the Northern Zone Council (NZC), held here on Friday. Representatives from partner states of the NZC, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Union Territory of Ladakh, attended the meeting. A total of 66 agenda items concerning various inter-state issues were discussed.
Chairing the meeting, Chief Secretary K.K. Pant said that the NZC states share several common concerns, which were discussed at length.
“The issue of allotment of land for the construction of Himachal Sadan in Sector 52, Chandigarh, and Himachal Pradesh’s share in Chandigarh as a successor state of composite Punjab, in light of the Supreme Court’s judgment, was also taken up,” said Pant.
A wide range of issues concerning the partner states, including water sharing, food safety, river-sharing disputes, crimes against women and children, narcotics and disaster management, were discussed during the deliberations.
It was informed at the meeting that a full-fledged Zonal Unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at Shimla has been made operational. The unit is of strategic importance and will help enhance coordination with state and central agencies, improve operational efficiency in sustained field operations and inter-state coordination, and strengthen focus on inter-state and cross-border trafficking corridors.
The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha (Punjab), Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi (Haryana), Additional Chief Secretary of Delhi Navin Kumar Chaudhary, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir R. Alice Vaz, and Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Ladakh Dr. Laltinkuma Franklin. Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat (ISCS), Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Ashish Srivastava; Advisor and Additional Secretary Manish Bhardwaj; and Chief Conservator of Forests of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Saurabh Kumar, were also present.
Rajasthan Chief Secretary V. Srinivas attended the meeting virtually.
