Jammu, Apr 02: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said he would remind his counterpart from Punjab to fulfill the commitments made with the Jammu & Kashmir Government regarding the Shahpur Kandi Dam project.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the Chief Minister said that the 1979 pact signed between the Governments of Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab on the Shahpur Kandi Dam project is a sovereign commitment between two states.
“I will take up the issue at my own level with my counterpart from Punjab about the commitments and remind him. It is not an individual commitment but a sovereign commitment between the Government of Punjab and the Government of J&K. There is no question of backtracking from the pact. I will remind and convince him to fulfill the agreement,” he said.
The CM added that he would pursue the matter with the Punjab Government to ensure that the 1979 agreement is implemented in letter and spirit.
The Shahpur Kandi Dam project originated from the 1979 agreement between Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir to construct the Ranjit Sagar (Thein) Dam and the Shahpur Kandi Dam for irrigation and power generation. The agreement, signed by then Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and then J&K Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, aimed to optimize the use of Ravi River waters by building the Ranjit Sagar Dam upstream and the Shahpur Kandi Dam downstream to provide irrigation facilities and generate hydroelectric power. (KNO)
