Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu laid the foundation stone of the Turkal Panga drinking water scheme in Kutlehar Assembly constituency of Una district, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 14.92 crore. This project will benefit over 10,000 residents of Budhan, Chamyari, Dhungle, Lathiani and Tanoh gram panchayats of the area. He also laid the foundation stones of the Samarthya Gyandeep Library and the Samarthya Vyayamshala.
Addressing a public gathering on the occasion, the Chief Minister announced the opening of a DSP office and a Sub-Judge court in Bangana. He also announced the opening of Primary Health Centres in Rainsari and Lathiani and stated that the Mahila Mandals present on the occasion would be granted Rs 25,000 each. He said that the state government is committed to providing clean drinking water to the people of the state and that during the next financial year, Rs 2,000 crore will be spent on modern technology to purify water, thereby ensuring the health and well-being of the state’s residents and protecting them from diseases.
The Chief Minister said that Kutlehar MLA Vivek Sharma had been visiting the Secretariat most frequently to get work done for the people of his constituency. He said that this reflected his spirit of service and his unwavering dedication to working for his region. He recalled that after a gap of 32 years, a Congress MLA had finally been elected from Kutlehar. He said that the previous MLA used to visit him only to discuss his own tenders.
Despite having won on the Congress party’s election symbol, the former MLA betrayed the party because his intentions were not sincere. The Chief Minister asserted that honesty can never be defeated and that Vivek Sharma stands as a living proof of this truth. He described Vivek Sharma as a man endowed with both virtue and good fortune and urged the people of Kutlehar to continue showering their blessings upon him.
Sukhu also hit back at the Finance Minister of Punjab, stating that the financial condition of Himachal Pradesh is far better than that of Punjab. He said that the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab had promised to implement the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees, but despite elections approaching, the scheme has not yet been implemented.
In contrast, the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh approved OPS for its employees in its very first Cabinet meeting. He asserted that the state government would not allow the resources and assets of Himachal Pradesh to be exploited at any cost.
He recalled that during the natural disaster in 2023, both he and the Deputy Chief Minister remained present on the ground and personally monitored relief efforts. The state government had the responsibility of rehabilitating 23,000 affected families and safely evacuating 75,000 stranded tourists. He said the government successfully rescued the tourists and restored temporary electricity and water supply within 48 hours, reducing the hardships faced by the people. Despite financial constraints, the government changed several rules to rehabilitate disaster-affected families. The relief amount for completely damaged houses was increased from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.
The Chief Minister further said that while the state was still dealing with the natural disaster, it also faced a “political disaster.” Thanking the people of Kutlehar, he said that with the blessings of the public and the local deities, the number of Congress MLAs in the Assembly has once again reached 40.
Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said that the previous BJP government spent public money recklessly to win elections. He alleged that buildings worth Rs 1,000 crore were constructed to benefit their associates, but many of them are lying vacant. He also accused the BJP of being anti-Himachal.
Referring to the sacrifices of the state’s soldiers who have won four Param Vir Chakra awards, he criticised the Agniveer scheme, saying that youth are being retired after just four years of service. He also alleged that employment rights under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) have been weakened and that Himachal Pradesh’s constitutional right to receive Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) has also been curtailed.
He said that during the previous BJP government, the state received Rs 54,000 crore as RDG and Rs 16,000 crore as GST compensation, totalling Rs 70,000 crore. However, the present government has received only Rs 17,000 crore as RDG. “If our government had received Rs 70,000 crore, Himachal Pradesh would not have had even a single rupee of debt today. At present, we are forced to take loans to repay previous loans, yet we are moving steadily towards making Himachal Pradesh self-reliant,” he said.
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