The Punjab government has initiated the process of creating a special cadre of employees for the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to address a persistent shortage of staff in the organisation.Highly placed sources told The Tribune that after the state Cabinet approved the filling of around 2,500 vacant posts under Punjab’s quota in BBMB last year, the Department of Irrigation has obtained approval from the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) to carry out recruitment. The rules for recruitment to the BBMB cadre are currently being framed, and a recruitment notification is expected to be issued shortly.Sources said a portion of the BBMB cadre posts will be filled by adjusting surplus staff from various Punjab government departments, while the remaining vacancies will be filled through direct recruitment.BBMB cadre explainedEmployees recruited under the BBMB cadre will be appointed specifically for service in BBMB projects and will not be transferred back to the Punjab state cadre. In the past, Punjab cadre employees posted to BBMB, largely from the irrigation and power departments, frequently sought transfers back to the state, making it difficult to maintain adequate staffing levels in the organisation.Punjab has a 52 per cent share in BBMB and is entitled to a corresponding share of posts in the board, whose projects are spread across Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. However, for nearly two decades, Punjab has failed to fill its quota of posts, leading to an acute manpower shortage. Vacancies under the Punjab quota have increased to around 2,500 in recent years.The situation is expected to worsen, as around 330 BBMB employees are due to retire this year, sources said.As Punjab struggled to fill its positions, employees from Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have been posted to BBMB, with Haryana in particular occupying several key roles. Haryana created a dedicated BBMB cadre about five years ago and has since recruited staff specifically for deployment in the organisation.The staffing issue came into sharp focus last year during a dispute between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and the BBMB over the allocation of Punjab’s share of water to Haryana. Sources said the state government felt that Punjab’s limited presence in key BBMB positions had weakened its influence over the organisation, which manages the waters of the Sutlej and Beas rivers.The creation of a special BBMB cadre is expected to help Punjab strengthen its administrative presence in the board and address the long-standing staffing crisis.Sources further said that 1,486 technical posts in BBMB are currently vacant, including 568 foreman posts. Foremen are critical to the maintenance and repair of dams, turbines, dam gates and galleries, as well as the upkeep of high-voltage power transmission lines. Vacant technical posts now account for nearly 45 per cent of the total sanctioned strength of 3,297 technical positions in BBMB.Officials believe the new cadre will significantly ease the manpower shortage and improve operational efficiency at the BBMB.