Ministers should provide correct information about funds received from Centre

State media in-charge and BJP MLA Randhir Sharma attacked Industry Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan, saying he should correct his information and stop lying to hide his failures and mislead the state. He said that Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan, in a press conference, claims that Himachal Pradesh has received only ₹4,253 crore from the central government, while in its reply to the Assembly session this year, the government stated that Himachal Pradesh received only ₹3,250 crore as disaster relief from the central government between 2022 and 2025. Furthermore, the state received a special package of ₹2,006 crore for the 2023 disaster, of which Himachal Pradesh has already received the first installment of ₹451.44 crore. If ₹2,006 crore is also added, the total amount would be ₹5,250 crore. Additionally, Himachal Pradesh received ₹198 crore as an NDRF advance on September 12, 2025, and approximately ₹10 crore as an NDRF advance. Furthermore, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Himachal Pradesh, he announced a separate disaster relief package of ₹1,500 crore. The total cash provided to Himachal Pradesh for disaster relief is ₹7,000 crore, which has been provided in just the last three years. All these figures have been posted by the government on various important platforms. So, how is Parliamentary Affairs and Industry Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan talking about providing only ₹4,350 crore in five years?

Randhir Sharma stated that in response to a question (Question No. 3038) asked by Jai Ram Thakur on August 20, 2025, during the ninth session of the 14th Legislative Assembly, the government stated that between 2022 and 2025, Himachal Pradesh received ₹1,280 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and ₹320 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) from the Center. During this period, Himachal Pradesh received ₹1,639 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and ₹9.45 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF). In 2023, the Central Government released a special disaster relief package of ₹2,006 crore, of which ₹451.44 crore has been received as the first installment. The government also stated that during this period, a total of ₹307 crore in relief funds were released to 54,808 disaster-affected people in the state. Whereas the government announced a special package of ₹4,500 crore solely for the 2023 disaster. As is the government’s habit, it is clear that even these figures have been manipulated to understate the central government’s support. Yet, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs is denying the figures, which were tabled in the Assembly under his supervision.

The BJP leader said that similarly, in response to a question asked by Vipin Parmar in the 2024 winter session, it was reported on December 19, 2024, that the central government had provided Himachal Pradesh with funds totaling ₹23,566 crore in just one year and eight months. Of this, ₹14,943 crore was allocated for 2023-24 and ₹8,623 crore until November 2024-25. These figures were also presented in the Assembly, meaning Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan would have been aware of them. However, such misrepresentation by him is not justified. Here, too, the government has cleverly attempted to conceal the figures for a significant amount of funds sent by the central government. Therefore, the question arises: whether the senior minister was lying in the House or in the press conference. As a minister, Harsh Vardhan Chauhan should keep his information accurate. Therefore, Harsh Vardhan Chauhan should apologize for the state’s rejection of the Centre’s full support, and he should also take action against the officials who misled him by giving wrong figures.