Got no relief package, hope Centre will come to rescue of Himachal: CM

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today said that he had taken up with the Central Government the issue of the grant of a special relief package to Himachal Pradesh but got no financial assistance so far for the losses suffered during the ongoing monsoon season.

Sukhu, while talking to mediapersons here, said that he was hopeful that the Centre would come to the rescue of Himachal. “It is good that Union Health Minister JP Nadda along with BJP MPs and MLAs met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek help in view of the damage caused in Seraj. In 2023-24, when the state suffered a loss of Rs 10,000 crore, the Opposition had staged a walkout and did not support a resolution seeking financial assistance from the Centre,” he added.

Sukhu said that the cold deserts of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti were witnessing the impact of climate change in the form of cloudbursts and heavy rainfall, which was a new phenomena. He added that the Central Government had constituted an inter-sectoral team of experts from eminent institutions to study this trend. He hoped that the BJP would engage in a constructive discussion and not just walkouts. “The problem is that the BJP is divided into five factions but my advice to them is to take part in debates,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister inaugurated the 76th state-level Van Mahotsav in the Kanlog area of Shimla. He said that the Forest Department was working towards achieving the target of increasing the forest cover by 30 per cent by 2030. He launched the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana in all Assembly constituencies and virtually interacted with ministers and MLAs.

He said this year, trees would be planted on around 9,000 hectares of forestland under different schemes and 60 per cent of these saplings were fruit plants. “The Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana will enhance public participation in forest conservation. Mahila mandals, yuvak mandals, self-help groups and joint forest committees will plant and look after saplings. A budgetary provision of Rs 100 crore has been made for this purpose,” he added.