D’sala Vidhan Sabha a white elephant: Butail

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, November 29

“Dharamsala Vidhan Sabha is a white elephant for Himachal government,” said BBL Butail, Speaker of Himachal Assembly while talking to newsmen here today.

Butail said that at present the Himachal Vidhan Sabha building was being used for just four to five days in a year. The Vidhan Sabha secretariat is forced to keep about 10 employees posted at Dharamsala to maintain the building. Maintaining Vidhan Sabha building for just five days’ business in a year was not logical. The cost of holding four-day session at Dharamsala comes to about Rs 60 lakh, he said.

Butail added that a proposal had been sent to the union government for establishing national level training centre for e-vidhan sabha at Dharamsala Vidhan Sabha complex. In case this centre was established here, staff of all the assemblies in the country would come here for e-vidhan sabha training. This would help in making optimum utilization of Dharamsala vidhan Sabha building here.

Butail said the Himachal Vidhan Sabha was the first in the country to adopt e-vidhan sabha programme. About 90 per cent working of Himachal Vidhan Sabha was paperless. This time out of 280 questions sent by members of Assembly, 90 were sent online.

Interestingly the eldest member of Himachal assembly, ID Dhiman was the one who has shown keen interest in e-working of the Vidhan Sabha, Butail said.

The Speaker said he was hopeful that the business in the House would be transacted peacefully in the winter session. “I have called an all-party meeting at 12 pm tomorrow to bring consensus for conducting the house smoothly during the winter session,” he said.

He said members of the House have given 280 questions for the winter session and they have been sent to the state government for reply. “We shall try to take up all the questions during question hour and the members have been asked to ask a maximum of three supplementary questions,” he said.

The Speaker further said that the members of the House have given notice for discussion under rule 130 on tourism and environment policy and maintenance of national highways and rural roads in the state. The government has been informed about the notices.

The members, through their questions, have asked information on delimitation of panchayats, land acquisition, maintenance of roads, decision of Green Tribunal, the new Volvo buses acquired by the HPRTC and recruitment of conductors and filling of vacancies in health department, the speaker said.

The Speaker further said the members of the House have also moved four resolutions before the House. BJP MLA Mohinder Singh has moved a resolution that various lands acquired by the union government for projects in the state but have not been put to use should be taken back.

Inder Singh has moved a resolution that the IPH Department should frame a policy for providing pure drinking water and irrigation facilities to the residents of the state.

Rikhi Ram Koundal has moved a resolution that the state government should establish ‘urja parks’ in all the districts to tap the solar energy potential.

Maheshwar Singh has moved a resolution that the state government should bring a legislation to regularize unauthorized constructions in the entire state.

The Speaker said the state government would bring a Bill on amendments in Town and Country Planning Act to regularize unauthorized constructions.