Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB)

What it is: The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) operates the Bhakra and Pong dams and the Dehar, Ganguwal and Kotla power stations, and regulates the supply of their water and power to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Chandigarh. Wikipedia says its members are appointed by the Government of India and by those states, and Mongabay India calls it Centre-controlled.

How it began: Wikipedia records that the board was constituted in 1966, took over the Bhakra Nangal project on 1 October 1967 as the Bhakra Management Board, and was renamed the Bhakra Beas Management Board on 15 May 1976 to take in the Beas dams. So the date given for its start depends on what is counted. Its legal base is Section 79 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, which, The Tribune says, allows no more than two whole-time members, at present one from Punjab and one from Haryana. Punjab has challenged Sections 78 and 79 in the Supreme Court, and The Tribune reported in November 2025 and April 2026 that the case is still pending.

Its leaders: The Tribune named Manoj Tripathi as chairman in May 2025. The sources opened for this page do not give a dated list of earlier chairmen.

Key moments

• April and May 2025: Haryana asks for extra water. Punjab told the High Court that no consensus was reached with Haryana at an April 28 meeting on 4,500 cusecs extra. On 6 May the court barred Punjab Police from interfering in the dam's day-to-day working and told Punjab to follow the Union Home Secretary's meeting of 2 May. On 21 May the Centre created 296 CISF posts for the dam's security wing (LiveLaw; The Tribune).
• August and September 2025: SANDRP's Himanshu Thakkar said Bhakra and Pong were past prudent storage by 20 August, with heavy releases from 26 August. Himachal Pradesh filed an FIR against the board, and a Punjab activist group petitioned the National Green Tribunal for an audit.
• October 2025 to April 2026: the Union Power Ministry asked states about raising the whole-time members from two to four, and on 13 April 2026 the Centre amended the BBMB Rules, 1974, so officers from Rajasthan and Himachal can be considered for Member (Power) and Member (Irrigation). Punjab opposed both moves. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called the proposal incremental federal erosion, and Punjab says it bears 40 per cent of the board's expenses.

Where it stands: Who sits on the board, and who decides releases, is open. After the 2025 floods SANDRP's Thakkar spoke of clear mismanagement by dam authorities, while the chairman said releases follow rule curves and the carrying capacity of the rivers (Mongabay). Punjab's Supreme Court challenge to Sections 78 and 79 is pending.