BJP submits memorandum to Governor, expresses strong opposition to withholding MLA Area Development Fund and discretionary funds
The BJP legislative party, led by former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, submitted a detailed memorandum to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla against the state Congress government. The memorandum seriously raised the issue of pending MLA Area Development Funds, discretionary funds, and development priorities of opposition MLAs.
The memorandum informed the Governor that the state government has not been releasing the MLA Area Development Fund since October 2025, due to which MLAs are facing great difficulty in fulfilling the development promises made to the public in their respective assembly constituencies. The BJP Legislative Party said that this year the state has suffered huge losses due to natural disaster and at such a time the MLA fund was extremely necessary for development and restoration works, but despite budget provision, the government released only half the funds and withheld the remaining amount.
The memorandum also stated that MLAs’ discretionary funds are not being released on time, hindering the provision of immediate assistance to the poor, sick, and disaster-affected. This also undermines the credibility of public representatives.
After submitting the memorandum, Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur told the media that it has been a tradition in Himachal Pradesh to seek development priorities from MLAs, who submit their plans to the Public Works Department (PWD) and Water Power Department. However, in the past three years, neither DPRs have been prepared for the priorities submitted by opposition MLAs, nor have they been submitted to NABARD for approval. Even if DPRs have been prepared, they are often stalled instead of being taken forward.
He said this situation is contrary to the democratic system and the spirit of equitable development. Development work in opposition areas is being systematically stalled. Only two installments of ₹55 lakh each from the MLA fund have been released, while the remaining amount is withheld. In many cases, payments have been stopped at the treasury level even after approval letters have been issued.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the BJP Legislature Party has requested the Governor to direct the government to immediately release the MLA Area Development Fund and discretionary fund and prepare a DPR of the development priorities of the opposition MLAs and send it to NABARD, so that balanced development can be ensured in all areas.
On this occasion, the Leader of Opposition was accompanied by MLAs Vipin Parmar, Satpal Satti, Vikram Thakur, Randhir Sharma, DS Thakur, Rakesh Jamwal, Pawan Kajal, Sukhram Chaudhary, Dilip Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dr. Janak Raj, Deep Raj Kapoor, Lokendra Kumar, Prakash Rana, Reena Kashyap, Trilok Jamwal, Indra Dutt Lakhanpal, Surendra Shauri, Purna Chand, Jeet Ram Katwal, Hans Raj, Balbir Verma and other MLAs.
