NANGAL, May 15 — The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) protest against the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) at Nangal dam continued this week, with party leaders intensifying demands over unresolved land lease disputes and exclusion from state welfare schemes.
Leading the charge, Sanjeev Gautam, chairman of Guru Ravidas Ayurvedic University, met Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann during his visit to Nangal and raised long-standing grievances of residents settled on BBMB land since the 1960s.
Gautam said many of these residents, including traders and families displaced during the Bhakra dam construction, were provided plots and shops on lease by BBMB but are now facing eviction over minor infractions.
“People who have lived here for over six decades are being dragged into court for simple repairs or structural changes to their old buildings,” said Gautam.
“We urged the Chief Minister to intervene and regularise the leased plots in their names so they can live without the constant fear of eviction.”
Residents have also demanded a formal policy from BBMB to either settle the leases or offer the plots at commercial rates, but so far, the Board has not acted.
Gautam said the delegation urged Mann to press for a resolution and extend state support to affected households.
In addition to land disputes, Nangal residents living on BBMB-leased properties are reportedly being denied benefits under Punjab government schemes. “They are not even receiving the 300 units of free power promised by the state,” Gautam pointed out.
“BBMB supplies separate power connections but does not extend the benefits offered by the Punjab Government.”
Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal confirmed the issue has reached the Chief Minister’s office.
“The matter is under active consideration,” he said.
Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains took a more assertive stance, blaming BBMB and National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) for obstructing the development of Nangal town.
“These agencies are sitting on vast tracts of land while the town struggles for space and infrastructure,” he said.
“The government should consider reclaiming unutilised BBMB land for public development projects.”
With no resolution in sight, AAP leaders said the dharna would continue until the residents’ demands are met and a policy decision is announced.
