Jal Shakti Vibhag
Government of Himachal Pradesh
आदत बनाएं बूंद-बूंद बचाएं
In the ancient Hindu Scriptures, a conspicuous inclination towards the study and management of irrigation is evident. Approximately 300 B.C. during a meeting between Chandragupta Maurya and the ambassador of Seleucus, Megasthenes articulated his observations on the opulence of the contemporary irrigation system in India. The economic treatises of "Kautilya" also recommended to the King a strategy of subduing adversaries by inundating their lands through the deliberate destruction of dams, canals, and embankments, as a means of territorial expansion.
In the beginning, the Public Works Department in Himachal Pradesh managed the construction of water supply & irrigation projects. In 1977, a separate wing for Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) within the Public Works Department was created, and a Chief Engineer was pointed in charge. In 1984, the Public Works Department was split into two separate departments: the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department. Consequently the first composition of IPH was as under:
| Sr. No. | Name | Designation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shri Kishori Lal | Minister |
| 2 | Er. M.C. Vakil | Engineer in Chief |
Finally on April 27, 1994, cadre and assets & liabilities like buildings and resources was split between two departments across Himachal Pradesh: "Irrigation and Public Health Department" and was later renamed to "Jal Shakti Vibhag" in 2020.
On November 19, 2008, the Shah Nahar Project in Fatehpur was established with Chief Engineer in Charge. In 2013, The Shah Nahar Project under the Irrigation and Public Health Department (IPH) was designated as the headquarters for the Engineer in Chief (Project). Subsequently, in 2019, the government relocated the Engineer in Chief Project office from Fatehpur (Kangra) to Mandi.