The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has decided to outsource its school in Nangal township. The move has triggered a row with Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains alleging the BBMB was shirking its corporate social responsibility and attempting to hand over its properties to private parties.The controversy follows a communication from the BBMB to the DAV management, which currently runs the Nangal school with expenses borne by the BBMB.The board cited DAV’s offer to run its Talwara school on outsourcing model without financial burden on the board and suggested adopting a similar model in Nangal.The move has caused unrest among staff and students. Teachers fear salary cuts, while parents anticipate fee hike.Bains said residents lost land for the BBMB project and that the school and hospital were among the few facilities provided to locals. He said the state government, a major stakeholder in the BBMB, opposed outsourcing.The BBMB runs four schools in Nangal and Talwara in Punjab, and Sundernagar and Pandoh in Himachal Pradesh. The agreement with DAV for Nangal and Talwara schools ends in March 2026. The board recently invited expressions of interest to outsource Talwara and Pandoh schools.Protests have begun in Talwara, while sources said there was no resistance in Pandoh, where the school has seven students and eight teachers.Sources said the BBMB spent about Rs 5 crore annually on its schools, including salaries and maintenance.BBMB Chairman Manohar Tripathi said the board faced pressure from partner states to cut expenses and that several organisations had offered to run the schools without cost to the board.