Amid the uproar over new criterion for selecting members of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the Central government clarified that the recently notified rules only specify the technical qualifications required for the functional members (power and irrigation), and that the structure of the BBMB remains unchanged.
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The notified rules comply with the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the Jagmohan Singh vs. Union of India and others case, a government source said on Sunday. No previously existing member has been dropped and no new member has been added. Representation of all the four member States — Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan — is secured equally. The benefit accruing to States in the form of power and irrigation at predetermined percentages also remains unchanged, the source added.
The BBMB is a statutory body constituted under Section 79 and Section 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. According to Section 79(2) of the Act, the BBMB consists of a whole-time Chairman and two whole-time members designated as member (irrigation) and member (power) to be appointed by the Central government. It also consists of a representative each from the governments of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier, neither the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 nor the BBMB Rules, 1974 specified the eligibility criteria, qualifications, experience, etc., for appointment as whole-time members of the body. The rules will help ascertain the suitability of a candidate for appointment as member.
The new criterion for selecting members of the BBMB had evoked sharp criticism from political circles in Punjab and Haryana. Opposing the move, Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders had termed the decision as a direct attack on the rights of Punjab and Haryana.