Governor flags poor work culture in Himachal before exit

Shiv Pratap Shukla, the outgoing Governor of Himachal Pradesh, questioned the state’s work culture before proceeding to Telangana, where he will take charge as Governor in the next few days. “In my three-year tenure in the state, I have observed the lack of work culture. It’s the reason why Uttarakhand, which came into being much later than Himachal, has gone past Himachal in terms of development,” Shukla said while speaking to the press here today.

Making it clear that the ‘work culture’ jibe was largely aimed at political and bureaucratic structure, Shukla said there was a big scope for development in the state and the political leaders from all parties should take advantage of it and join hands with society to speed up the developmental work. “If the work culture is not improved, the state will not progress. Every resident of the state should focus on improving the work culture in the state,” said Shukla.

When pointed out that the state lacks resources and required support from the Centre to speed up the development works, Shukla said the state needs to find ways to become financially independent. Citing the example of GST compensation that is no longer available to the states, Shukla said there was no point wailing over it.

“We will be in loss if we keep pondering over it. But if the state decides to stand on its feet, it will definitely become self-dependent,” he said. Shukla further said there was never any confrontation between his office and the government. “I tried to clear whatever the government sent to us in an appropriate timeframe. A few things like Sukh Ashray Bill cannot be cleared unless the Centre government gives it assent,” he said.

The Governor also dwelt on the two campaigns he was part of in the state: Nasha Mukt Himachal and TB elimination. While he expressed satisfaction over how Nasha Mukt Himachal campaign had panned out and the support it received all around, he sounded concerned over the TB elimination campaign. “We thought Himachal would become TB free last year but the TB incidence has gone up. Compared to other states, the disease has increased in the state,” he said.

Shukla also slammed the West Bengal government for not following the appropriate protocol during the visit of President Droupadi Murmu. “There can’t be anything more condemnable than the state government failing to accord a proper welcome to the President of India,” he said.