Anurag Thakur Raises Pong Dam Displacement Crisis in Parliament, Calls for Immediate Joint Action

Shimla, Dec 05

Former Union Minister and Hamirpur MP Anurag Singh Thakur on Friday delivered an emotional appeal in the Lok Sabha, highlighting the decades-long suffering of families displaced by the Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar) project in Kangra district. Speaking during Zero Hour, Thakur urged the Centre to form an inter-ministerial committee—under the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Ministry of Home Affairs—in coordination with the governments of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh to ensure the long-pending rehabilitation process is finally completed. His concerns were supported in the House by Kangra MP Rajeev Bhardwaj.

Thakur reminded Parliament that over 20,772 families from 339 villages were uprooted more than 50 years ago, yet more than 6,700 families still await land allotment promised under the 1970 MoU and the Rajasthan Colonisation Rules, 1972. Despite multiple interventions, including a 1996 Supreme Court order and a 2024 inspection report, many displaced families continue to face lack of basic infrastructure, unresolved land claims, and bureaucratic hurdles.

Emotionally recalling the sacrifices of the people of Himachal, Thakur said, “Our people gave their land, youth, and sacrifices for the nation. But even after five decades, their rehabilitation remains incomplete. What is their fault?”

He urged the central government to take a proactive role, strengthen the monitoring mechanism, expedite pending allotments, ensure budgetary support for essential infrastructure, and simplify processes for domicile certificates and Kisan Credit Cards for affected families.

Thakur said rehabilitation is not a political slogan but a moral responsibility, calling for cooperative federal action to deliver long-overdue justice to the Pong Dam displaced families.