The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has decided to repatriate employees belonging to its partner states to their respective parent states six months before their retirement. The move is likely to aggravate the acute manpower shortage in the organisation.The decision was taken at a recent BBMB board meeting following a request from the partner states. The decision was taken due to pension related anomalies among employees serving in the board. Repatriation orders of around 12 employees have already been issued. In one instance, an employee with only 10 days left for retirement was repatriated to his parent state.Employees from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh serve in the BBMB. Under the board’s existing arrangement, employees can opt for the pay scales of any partner state in accordance with the principle of same work, same salary rule. Since Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) scales are generally higher than those of the other partner states, all employees serving in the BBMB have predominantly opted for Punjab scales.However, the arrangement has created complications after employees retire. While their pensions are paid by their respective parent states, several retired employees have approached courts seeking pensionary benefits based on the higher last pay drawn while serving in BBMB. This has resulted in some retired employees receiving substantially higher pensions than their counterparts who remained in their parent departments.The partner states, according to sources, therefore agreed to the six-month repatriation arrangement to ensure that employees retire from their parent departments and draw pension according to the applicable state service structure.BBMB employee unions have strongly opposed the decision and urged the board to withdraw it. The unions have argued that employees who have spent almost their entire careers serving the organisation should not be sent back to their parent departments merely six months before retirement. They have termed the decision unjust and impractical.Punjab had earlier also objected to the extension of PSPCL pay scales to employees belonging to other states working in BBMB.The latest decision comes at a particularly difficult time for BBMB, which is already facing a serious shortage of technical manpower. The situation is likely to worsen with nearly 330 employees expected to retire in the coming months.Punjab alone has around 1,486 vacant technical posts in BBMB against a sanctioned strength of 3,297 nearly 45 per cent of the total technical positions. These include 568 foremen responsible for crucial repair and maintenance work involving the Bhakra Dam, dam galleries, spillway gates, turbines and high-voltage transmission infrastructure.The staffing crisis has been compounded by Punjab’s delay in creating a dedicated cadre for BBMB. More than seven months ago, the Punjab Cabinet approved the creation of a special cadre to fill nearly 2,500 vacant Punjab quota posts in the organisation. However, the recruitment process is yet to begin as the government has not finalised the necessary recruitment rules.Punjab, which has nearly a 52 per cent share in BBMB, has struggled for almost two decades to fill its employee quota.BBMB was responsible for managing the waters of the Sutlej and Beas and operating critical dam, irrigation and hydropower infrastructure across four state. The growing shortage of technical staff has emerged as a serious concern.