Shimla, Sept. 6 -- The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has stopped the process of floating tenders for desilting reservoirs in Himachal Pradesh following sustained pressure from the state government, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, escalating a dispute over who has the right to undertake the work and resources generated from it. Clarifying the state's stance, Sukhu, during the assembly session on September 3, said the state had objected to BBMB floating the tenders, arguing that the land belongs to Himachal Pradesh and the mining rights over the extracted material rest with the state government. "In the case of desilting of dams, such as Bhakra or Pong Dams, the tenders for desilting were initially floated by BBMB. BBMB had invited tenders for carrying out the desilting work. Our department told them that you cannot carry out the desilting because this is our land and the mining rights belong to us. We will float the tenders for this work; otherwise, we will register an FIR against them. Following this, they cancelled the tenders for the desilting work," Sukhu told the assembly. The development comes amid growing concerns over silt accumulation in reservoirs, with the Central Water Commission (CWC) finding that the live storage capacity of the Bhakra Dam reservoir, Gobind Sagar, has fallen by 25% from its original capacity. HT reported on December 4 last year that, according to the proposal, Himachal Pradesh was to receive standard royalty from sand mining, while BBMB was to pocket any additional revenue. "If sand is sold at Rs.100, the state gets its royalty-say Rs.65-and the remaining Rs.35 goes to BBMB," an official explained. "This will boost income for HP, BBMB, and partner states while addressing the siltation challenge." Since then, the state has opposed the BBMB proposal, contending that the Himachal Pradesh government has the right to desilt reservoirs on its land. "The land on which the hydel projects are constructed is of the state and revenue generated from the extracted material belongs to the state government," Sukhu said, while clarifying that the cost of removing the material will have to be borne by the hydro companies themselves. Industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan during the recently concluded monsoon session had also flagged the growing problem of silt accumulation in hydroelectric reservoirs, saying reduced holding capacity could affect their functioning while clarifying that the hydropower companies would have to bear the cost of dredging. Reacting to the Himachal Pradesh chief minister, a top functionary in the BBMB said that a meeting has been fixed with the officials of the state government on September 9 to discuss mutual conditions for the de-silting of Bhakra and Pong Dam reservoirs. "Himachal Pradesh has in-principle agreed to de-silting only after the tenders were floated and work has also been awarded. The de-silting has been awarded at Seer and Dhera Khuds and over the Beas river bed," he said, requesting anonymity. The exercise will generate a revenue of at least Rs.250 crore per annum for the Himachal Pradesh government, and in case all eight sites are awarded, it will bring Rs.700 crore to 800 crore every year, he added. "The board is in touch with the top officials of the Himachal government, after which the tendering process was initiated. In case they want to talk in detail and sign an agreement, we are ready for discussions," he added. Meanwhile, the Centre has written to the state government to formulate a detailed desilting plan to be executed in 'mission mode', following concerns over silt accumulation. Specific instructions have been issued to prepare a sediment management plan for the Baira reservoir in Chamba. The central government has expressed concern over the increasing silt accumulation in Himachal Pradesh's major reservoirs. The CWC survey indicates that the original live storage capacity of several reservoirs in Himachal has dropped by over 25%....