A century-old colonial lease, an expired deadline, and Himachal Pradesh's treasury waiting — that is the high-stakes backdrop against which the Chief Minister's Office of Himachal Pradesh posted a pointed assertion on Friday, 6 November 2026: the state's battle over its water and power assets is far from over.

The post, shared on X, quoted the Chief Minister directly: 'यदि इसी हिसाब से अगला समझौता होता है, तो हिमाचल के खजाने में लगभग 1,000 करोड़ रुपये सालाना आने शुरू हो जाएँगे।' ('If the next agreement is concluded on these same terms, approximately Rs 1,000 crore per year will begin flowing into Himachal's treasury.') The statement signals that an earlier revenue settlement has set a benchmark — and that Shimla intends to use it as leverage in every battle ahead.

The Shanan Project: a 99-year lease that Punjab still holds

At the centre of the CM's remarks is the Shanan Power Project — a 110 MW hydroelectric installation in Jogindernagar, built in the 1920s and handed to Punjab under the 1925 Shanan Agreement, a colonial-era lease designed to run for 99 years. That lease expired in 2024. Himachal Pradesh insists the project must now revert — along with its revenues — to the upstream state that hosts it.

The CMO's post leaves no room for ambiguity: 'हमें शानन पावर प्रोजेक्ट की लड़ाई लड़नी है, जिसके लिए हम देश के बड़े वकीलों को खड़ा करेंगे।' ('We have to fight the battle for the Shanan Power Project, and for this we will deploy the country's top lawyers.') That is a declaration of intent — Shimla is mobilising elite legal firepower, not retreating.

Water cess: a second front in the revenue war

The post also flags a parallel fight: the water cess dispute. 'वाटर सेस की लड़ाई भी पूरी...' ('The water cess battle is also fully...') — the sentence trails off mid-post, but the message is clear. Himachal Pradesh is simultaneously pressing its claim for water charges on rivers that originate within its borders and flow downstream to power plants and irrigation systems in neighbouring states.

Taken together — Shanan reversion plus water cess plus the precedent-setting agreement already secured — the state is building a layered revenue strategy. Each legal win creates a template for the next one. If the Rs 1,000 crore annual figure materialises, it would represent a significant addition to a hill-state treasury that has historically run on tight margins.

A pattern older than independence

Himachal Pradesh is not alone in this fight. Across the Himalayan arc, upstream states have spent decades arguing that colonial-era hydel leases — drafted before state boundaries were drawn and before modern royalty frameworks existed — shortchange the territories that bear the environmental and infrastructural cost of these projects. Courts and inter-state negotiations have slowly shifted the balance, but the pace remains glacial. Shimla is now signalling it will accelerate that timeline through litigation.

The legal strategy announced here — fielding the country's top lawyers — suggests Himachal Pradesh expects a prolonged courtroom contest, not a quick administrative transfer. Watch for the first hearing dates and any formal counter-position from Punjab.