Centre has failed in providing adequate and timely financial assistance to Himachal : Shandil

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. (Col) Dhani Ram Shandil has strongly refuted the allegations of the Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan, in which they have claimed that despite adequate financial assistance from the Centre, the Himachal government has failed to utilize funds and take the state ahead on path of development.

The Minister said that fact is that the Centre has failed in providing adequate and timely financial assistance to the state, particularly in the aftermath of recent natural disasters. He said the funds are a right of the state and the Centre must provide significant aid to manage the severe financial crisis and recovery efforts. The Centre released only Rs. 433.70 crore in disaster relief for the 2023 monsoon season, while the state suffered losses estimated at around Rs. 9,000 to Rs. 10,000 crore. The total losses over the last three years due to natural calamities are estimated at Rs. 18,000 crore.

Dr. Shandil said that central government has been indulged in step motherly treatment and discriminating against Himachal Pradesh being a Congress-ruled state.

He remarked the state government requested Rs. 9,042 crore in financial assistance following a post-disaster assessment by a central team, but has not received this amount. The Centre has, however, approved a recovery plan of Rs. 2006.40 crore for the year 2023 monsoon damages under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), which is not sufficient.

“The reduction in revenue deficit grants and cuts in borrowing limits have further strained the state’s financial position, making it difficult to undertake development and relief work” said the Minister.  He emphasized that the state government is using its own limited resources and has implemented internal reforms to manage the situation.

Dr. Shandil said that the wrong policies of the previous BJP government in the State led to the financial mess in Himachal Pradesh and it left a debt burden of over Rs.75,000 crore besides Rs. 10,000 crore liabilities towards the employees. However, the present government under the leadership of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has taken several effective measures to achieve financial discipline, strengthening rural economy, creating job opportunities for the youth and ensuring welfare of all sections of the society. He said the state government will not hesitate in taking tough decisions which alone can help the state become self-reliant by 2027.

He said that the BJP distributed freebies during the 2022 Assembly elections and fourteen types of subsidies were given which now have been rationalized by the Sukhu government.

Accusing the Leader of Opposition for spreading lies regarding non-fulfillment of any guarantee by the state government, he said that the Congress government has already realized six of its guarantees on ground during the last three years but it is an irony that the BJP leaders cannot see it.

The Minister said that Jai Ram Thakur’s claim that the state government failed to make solid steps to provide relief to the affected families of the 2023 and 2025 natural disaster is also a big lie as he must be aware that for the first time, the government has significantly enhanced its disaster relief package for disaster-hit families across the state, along with significant policy reforms and infrastructure upgrades. Under the package, the compensation of Rs. 1.30 lakh for a completely damaged house has been increased more than five times to rupees seven lakh. Apart from this, the compensation has been increased significantly for undertaking various relief and rehabilitation activities.

As far as the vision for development of the state was concerned, the BJP leaders must remember that the present government has taken several historic and bold decisions aimed at speedy and all-round development. He reminded them that Himachal Pradesh has become the first state of the country to make a law for education and health care of the orphaned children by starting the Mukhya Mantri Sukh-Ashray Yojana. The government has restarted old pension scheme for its employees and it is for the first time that minimum support price has been given for milk and buffalo milk. Similarly, MSP has been introduced for the first time for the maize and wheat produced through natural farming and both these steps are aimed to strengthen rural economy which would go a long way in making Himachal a prosperous and self-reliant state.