Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that it’s time for Punjab government to hand over Shanan Power Project to Himachal Pradesh. He visited the historic 110 MW Shanan Power House at Joginder Nagar in district Mandi on Friday.
During the visit, the Chief Minister inspected the power house and took briefing about it from the officials.
While addressing the media he said that the government of Himachal Pradesh rightfully deserves to take over the project following the expiration of the lease period.
CM Sukhu asserted that after a century of operation by Punjab, the time has come for the project to be handed over to Himachal Pradesh government.
He said that the Shanan Project does not fall under the Punjab Reorganisation Act and that the Punjab government has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. The chief minister assured that the decision of the Supreme Court on the matter would be respected by one and all.
The chief minster highlighted that the foundation of the Shanan project was laid more than a century ago. The objective of his visit was to assess the current condition of this power project. He said that although the project was presently operated by the Punjab government but discussions are underway to transfer control to the Himachal Pradesh government.
Rajesh Kumar, superintend engineer, Shanan Project; Satish Kumar, executive engineer; Devender Singh, managing director, Uhal Project stage-3; Apoorv Devgan, deputy commissioner, Sakshi Verma, superintendent of police; Jeevan Thakur, Congress state secretary and Pawan Thakur, Congress district president were present on the occasion.