Pratiksha Ghosh
Chandigarh, May 23 2025:
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately roll back the Centre’s decision to station 296 personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Bhakra Dam in Nangal.
Addressing the media, Mann firmly stated that the Union government could not “plunder Punjab’s waters” under the guise of security deployment, warning that the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government would not allow such a move.
He added that if the Centre went ahead with deploying CISF personnel, the Punjab Police would also be stationed at the dam, and BBMB engineers would only be granted access to operate the dam with permission from the state police.
The Chief Minister said he intends to raise the issue at the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for May 24, which will also be attended by the Prime Minister. He reiterated that Punjab would neither bear the Rs 8.58 crore cost proposed for the CISF deployment nor contribute any amount from the state budget.
Mann also emphasised that the state is fully capable of securing the Bhakra Dam, which falls within its jurisdiction, just as it protects the international border. He expressed concern that the deployment of CISF may be a pretext to divert water from the dam to Haryana.
The directive for CISF deployment was reportedly conveyed through a letter dated May 19, 2025, issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to the Director (Security and Consultancy) of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) in Chandigarh.
Mann questioned whether senior Punjab BJP leaders—including Capt Amarinder Singh, Manpreet Singh Badal, Ravneet Singh Bittu, and Sunil Jakhar—were consulted prior to the issuance of the letter.
The Chief Minister urged the BJP-led Centre to avoid policies that he said unfairly target Punjab. He added that instead of creating tension, the Centre should announce a special aid package for the border state, which continues to battle challenges such as drug trafficking.
While Mann said he hopes to maintain cooperative ties with the Union government, he asserted that he would not allow any injustice to Punjab under his administration.
