Dam Security Act in place but nothing has changed on ground in Punjab

Though the Dam Safety Act was passed in 2021, the ground situation in Punjab, as far as the security of dams, hasn’t changed.

Under the Act, BBMB had moved a proposal for the deployment of four companies, each led by a commandant-rank officer with a total of 435 personnel, at Bhakra Dam, Nangal Dam and other key regulators and water channels (canals).

“Nothing has changed in the security related to dams in Punjab or those dams in which the Punjab government has a share ever since the Dam Safety Act came into force. All security-related aspects are being handled by local police,” a senior BBMB official said pleading anonymity.

At present, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) only guards the BBMB’s Beas Sutlej Link (BSL) project in Sundernagar, which falls in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. CISF’s 235 personnel took over the BSL security in 2024.

BSL is a critical infrastructure which diverts water from the Beas into the Sutlej through two tunnels and an open channel to enhance power generation and augment the storage capacity of the Bhakra Reservoir (Gobind Sagar).

In the special one-day session, post the water-sharing row with Haryana, Punjab passed a resolution seeking annulment of the 2021 Act, calling it an attack on Punjab’s riparian rights.

Punjab has also opposed handing over the dam security to CISF, citing heavy cost for a cash-strapped state. “We have been objecting to the deployment of the central security forces at dam installations as it involves a cost that is four times more than deploying state police,” said a senior official in the Punjab irrigation department. The state police continue to guard the installations that fall under its jurisdiction. It includes powerhouses of Bhakra Dam built over river Sutlej and downstream Nangal Dam.

Earlier, the Himachal Pradesh police used to guard this project.

According to a senior BBMB functionary, who didn’t wish to be named, because the BSL project had had no territorial problem like other BBMB projects, including Bhakra and Pong Dam, it was easy to replace Himachal Police with the CISF.

The senior functionary added that Himachal Police is guarding most of the areas along the Dam.

“The CISF was ready to replace the state police. However, security forces raised a few demands and facilities for its service men due to which the move was taking time,” he added.

Sources have disclosed that in the case of Bhakra, the CISF doesn’t want to guard the peripheral area of the dam and wants state police to continue.

Notably, the majority of the security of Bhakra Dam at present is under the control of Himachal Pradesh.

Himachal police guard the Dam and the areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Una and Bilaspur districts, the Punjab Police guard one road that connects Nangal with the Dam.

In the case of Bhakra Dam, the CISF wanted to guard the hardcore Dam area, whereas, for the peripheral areas, it wanted Himachal and Punjab police to guard the roads and check post that leads to the dam.

In the case of Pong Dam, the Himachal Police guards the dam area and the road coming from Himachal Pradesh whereas Punjab Police guards the only road that connects Talwara to the Dam area.

“What Punjab has done by locking the control room at Nangal Dam is childish act as tomorrow, Himachal Police may arbitrarily lock access to Bhakra Dam and Pong Dam,” a senior functionary of Himachal government added pleading anonymity.

In the case of Ranjit Sagar Dam, the Punjab Police guards the core dam areas as well as the peripheral roads falling in Punjab.

The HP official quoted above added that even if Punjab comes out with its own Dam Safety Act, how it will apply to facilities falling in other states?