Bhakra and the Great Dams

Bhakra

• On the Sutlej at Bhakra village, Bilaspur; a straight gravity dam about 226 m high — among the highest in the world when built.
• Foundation stone laid in 1948; the dam was completed and dedicated in 1963, Nehru calling it a 'temple of resurgent India'.
• Reservoir: Gobind Sagar. Power houses: left bank 612 MW, right bank 785 MW; total about 1,325 MW.
• Operated by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB); benefits shared between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, with HP holding a share.

Pong

• On the Beas in Kangra, completed 1974; reservoir Maharana Pratap Sagar, a Ramsar site (2002); 396 MW.
• Displaced a very large number of families from the Beas valley, many resettled in Rajasthan's command area — a long-running rehabilitation grievance.

Displacement — the exam angle

Both projects made Himachal a net exporter of benefits and a net bearer of costs. The old town of Bilaspur was submerged by Gobind Sagar and rebuilt on higher ground; Pong oustees are still pursuing claims. Use these two as the case study whenever a question asks about development-induced displacement, resettlement policy, or centre–state sharing of river benefits.