Chief Minister, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar at Chandigarh today and discussed various bilateral issues. He said that the water cess to be imposed by the Himachal government on hydropower projects set up in Himachal Pradesh would not cause any loss to Haryana.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the water cess would not be levied on water but on the power generation in about 172 hydropower projects being operating in the state. He said that the purpose of this meeting was to remove misconceptions regarding water cess. In the meeting, detailed discussions were held on the Renuka dam project and the joint Kishau hydropower project of Himachal, Haryana and Uttarakhand. The implementation of the Adi Badri project, the origin of Saraswati river was also discussed.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that unnecessary delay in implementation of various joint projects increases the cost of the project while the objective of the scheme is not fulfilled as the benefits of the project were also delayed. He said that senior officials of both states will hold a meeting to decide the future policy regarding various projects. He invited Haryana to invest in hydropower projects and green hydrogen in Himachal Pradesh. He said that investment in Himachal would prove beneficial for both the states.
Haryana Chief Minister said that hydropower projects are environment friendly besides meeting the requirements of the future. He said that investment in Himachal would be considered effectively. Health and Family Welfare, Social Justice and Empowerment and Labor and Employment Minister of Himachal, Dr. Col. Dhani Ram Shandil, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Ram Kumar, Principal Media Advisor to Chief Minister, Naresh Chauhan, Secretary Power (Haryana), Principal Private Secretary to Chief Minister, Vivek Bhatia, Deputy Commissioner Solan Manmohan Sharma, Superintendent of Police Solan, Virender Sharma and senior officers of Haryana were also present.
