SHIMLA -2 Feb, 2026

Prepare roadmap to enhance forest cover to 31 percent by 2030: CM to forest deptt

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has directed the Forest Department to prepare a comprehensive roadmap to increase forest cover in Himachal Pradesh to 31 percent by the year 2030. Presiding over a review meeting of the Forest Department here today, the Chief Minister said that the present forest cover in the State stands at 29.5 percent and needs to be enhanced in a planned and sustainable manner.

The Chief Minister said that global warming has emerged as a major challenge worldwide and its adverse effects were clearly visible. Keeping this in view, the present State Government was according high priority to environmental conservation. He said that about 16,376 square kilometers of area in Himachal was snow-covered, barren or mountainous, where plantation was not feasible. Therefore, the Forest Department should identify potential areas in each district suitable for plantation and prepare a phased plantation plan accordingly. He also emphasized the plantation of native species, fruit-bearing plants and plants with medicinal value.

Sh. Sukhu stressed that the department should focus not only on creating new forests but also on protecting existing ones, while ensuring active participation of local people and communities. He said that the State Government has launched the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana’ to promote community participation in forest plantation and conservation in the State. Under the scheme, plantation was carried out over 924.9 hectares during the previous year. A total of 285 Mahila Mandals, 70 Yuvak Mandals, 59 Self Help Groups and 13 community-based organizations actively contributed to this initiative. He added that under the scheme, the State Government was providing financial assistance of Rs. 2.40 lakh for plantation over two hectares to these groups, along with annual incentives linked to survival rates of plantations. The scheme has received an encouraging response from the targeted groups.

The Chief Minister further stated that a target has been set to undertake plantation over 5,000 hectares in the next financial year under the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana. Of this, 3,376 hectares have already been identified, while the process of identifying the remaining 1,624 hectares was underway. He also reviewed the progress of other schemes being implemented by the Forest Department.

Additional Chief Secretary K.K. Pant, PCCF (HoFF) Sanjay Sood and other senior officers of the Forest Department were present in the meeting.

=======================================

Chief Minister launches Home Stay Portal

CM directs tourism deptt to issue provisional renewal registration to 'Home Stays', pending fire NoC

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today took a decisive step toward streamlining Himachal Pradesh’s tourism sector by launching the dedicated home stay registration portal, http://homestay.hp.gov.in designed to simplify the administrative process. The new platform allows operators to complete their registration online, ensuring a user-friendly experience from the comfort of their homes.

The Chief Minister emphasized that the state government was committed to facilitate hotel owners and home stay operators to ensure that their businesses remain unhindered by bureaucratic hurdles. In a significant move to support the hospitality industry, the Chief Minister issued clear directives that 'renewal of registration' of home stays must not be stalled under the pretext of Fire No Objection Certificates (NOC). He instructed the Tourism Department to grant provisional registrations to such establishments, ensuring that business operations and maintenance can proceed without harassment or unnecessary obstruction.

Highlighting the vast potential of the state's tourism landscape, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu noted that the Home Stay Scheme is a cornerstone of the government's strategy to foster self-employment. The initiative aims to promote rural tourism and draw visitors to the state’s untouched, lesser-known destinations. To maximize these opportunities, the government has expanded the scheme’s scope to include urban areas allowing for the registration of home stays with a capacity of up to six rooms.

The Chief Minister underscored that home stays offer a unique value proposition, providing tourists with an authentic "homely" experience through traditional village architecture and local cuisine. He remarked that serving traditional dishes not only enriches the tourist experience particularly for foreign visitors but also significantly boosts the income of local homeowners.

To further incentivize the sector, the Chief Minister highlighted the introduction of an interest subsidy scheme designed to assist people in setting up expanding or upgrading tourism units. Under this initiative, the state provides interest subsidies of three percent in urban areas, four percent in rural areas and five percent in tribal regions on term loans.

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Board Vice Chairman R.S. Bali virtually joined the occasion, while the Principal Adviser (Media) to the Chief Minister, Naresh Chauhan, Principal Secretary Devesh Kumar and Director of Tourism Department Vivek Bhatia were present in Shimla.

============================================

Himachal faces more than Rs. 10,000 Crore annual loss due to 16th Finance commission's recommendation says Mukesh Agnihotri

• BJP MPs betrayed state’s rights, remained silent and helpless onlookers

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri while sharply criticizing the Central Government’s budget and the 16th Finance Commission’s recommendations, stated that these decisions will inflict a direct annual financial blow of approximately more than Rs. 10,000 crore on Himachal Pradesh.

Describing the move as a "long-term crisis" rather than a temporary setback, the Deputy CM asserted that the weakening of the state’s financial structure is completely unacceptable.

He said that it is a "Double Blow" to the State Economy as Himachal is already reeling under a dual economic impact in the form of GST earlier and now RDG. The cessation of GST compensation was the first major shock during the central BJP regime which had already proven detrimental to mountain states with limited revenue resources.

Secondly, abolition of the 'Revenue Deficit Grant' which was an institutional safeguard for states like ours, the Union Government has given a second major severe blow to the state's fiscal health.

"Ending RDG is a policy injustice that undermines the very spirit of the federal structure," stated Sh. Agnihotri. With a total state budget of approximately Rs. 58,000 crore, a significant portion is already committed to salaries, pensions and mandatory expenditures the Deputy CM said.

Over the last five years, Himachal received Rs.38,000 crore via RDG. Given current inflation and economic shifts, the state expected this to rise to Rs. 50,000 crore.

Launching scathing attack, he said that as of now the complete removal of this grant threatens to stall ongoing developmental projects and welfare schemes.

Sh. Agnihotri reminded the Center that Himachal Pradesh was formed with the understanding that its unique geography prevents it from being entirely self-reliant. Since 1952, it has been a national consensus that the Center would provide special financial assistance to the state of Himachal Pradesh.

He emphasized that Himachal’s dependence on central support was not a weakness but a part of the Center’s constitutional obligation toward a border and mountain state.

The Deputy Chief Minister posed a direct challenge to the BJP Members of Parliament from the state, as well as the Leader of Opposition and former CM Jai Ram Thakur who remained mere spectators failed to secure the rights of state.

He demanded clarity on whether they stand with the Central Government's decision or with the interests of the people of Himachal. He said that silence on a matter involving a Rs. 10,000 crore annual loss was a compromise of the state’s future that the public will not forgive.