Eight-day winter session of Vidhan Sabha to begin in Dharamsala on Nov 26

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 4

The eight-day winter session of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha will be held at Dharamsala from November 26 to December 5, Speaker Kuldeep Pathania announced today. Unlike previous years when the session was held at the end of December, the schedule has been advanced to the last week of November to prevent inconvenience to tourists who throng Himachal’s hill stations during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Pathania said the decision was taken keeping in mind that Himachal is a major tourist destination and large crowds visit Dharamsala, McLeodganj and nearby areas during the holiday season. “When the Assembly session is held at Dharamsala, it naturally leads to congestion, traffic restrictions and a stricter enforcement regime. These could cause discomfort to tourists visiting the region for leisure,” he explained.

He said the winter session this year would comprise eight sittings, which is relatively longer than the usual four to five-day sessions held in previous years. With this, the Assembly will complete the target of 35 sittings for 2025, fulfilling the annual requirement. The monsoon session earlier this year had already accounted for 12 sittings, making it one of the lengthier sessions in recent times.

The Speaker added that all necessary arrangements were being made for the smooth conduct of proceedings. He also plans to visit Dharamsala soon to review the preparations personally.

The winter session at Dharamsala has become a well-established tradition since 2005, when it was first held at Tapovan during the tenure of the late Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. It was Virbhadra Singh who had earlier, in 1994, introduced the concept of the state government’s “winter sojourn”, a fortnight-long shift of the entire administrative machinery, including the Chief Minister, ministers and senior officials, to Dharamsala. The move was aimed at bringing governance closer to the people of Kangra, Chamba, Una and adjoining districts in the lower Himachal region.