High-level panel submits report on Pong dam displacement, Himachal to seek Centre’s assistance

The committee’s recommendations include the allotment of land to 6,736 displaced families and the establishment of a grievance redressal cell to address concerns related to infrastructure and facilities

A high-level committee constituted to address the relief and rehabilitation of families displaced due to the Pong Dam project submitted its comprehensive report to revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi on Wednesday.

Even after five decades have passed cases of 6,736 families awaiting rehabilitation are still pending. (File)

Even after five decades have passed since thousands of families were uprooted to make way for the construction of Pong Dam in Kangra district, the cases of 6,736 families, who await rehabilitation, are still pending.

The committee’s recommendations include the allotment of land to 6,736 displaced families and the establishment of a grievance redressal cell to address concerns related to infrastructure and facilities.

The committee was chaired by deputy commissioner (Relief and Rehabilitation) Dr Sanjay Kumar Dhiman and included sub-divisional magistrate Jwali Vichitra Singh and Dehra tehsildar Karm Chand Kalia as members.

Speaking on the occasion, Negi said a state-level meeting was convened in Dharamshala on October 18 to deliberate on the rehabilitation plan. Subsequently, the committee inspected land identified for these families in Rajasthan, covering regions such as Ramgarh, Jaisalmer, Mohangarh and Nachana from October 25 to 27, in coordination with administrative officers of the Rajasthan government.

The minister added that the state government would hold a ministerial-level meeting next month to discuss the findings and expedite the rehabilitation process. He said central assistance would be sought to ensure timely and effective relief efforts.

As many as 75,268 acres of land was acquired in 1966-67 for the Pong Dam project, impacting 339 villages. Of the 20,722 affected families, 16,352 have been found eligible for land allotment, while 6,736 families are yet to be rehabilitated.

The construction of the dam started in 1961 on the Beas near Pong village in Kangra district (then a part of Punjab), so that waters from its reservoir could be taken to the desert lands of Rajasthan and feed the extensive network of canal irrigation systems there.