Shimla, 06.02.26-

Government secures approval of 73 projects worth Rs. 713.87 crore from NABARD: CM

  • CM chairs MLA priority meeting with MLAs of Una, Hamirpur and Sirmaur districts

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu chaired a meeting of MLAs from Una, Hamirpur and Sirmaur districts on the first day of the first session to finalize MLAs priorities for the financial year 2026-27. He said that during 2025-26, the state government has already secured approval from NABARD for 73 projects worth Rs. 713.87 crore. Out of these, 55 MLA priority projects worth Rs. 512.31 crore were related to the Public Works Department, while 18 projects worth Rs. 201.56 crore pertain to the Jal Shakti Department.

The Chief Minister directed that the allocated budget should be fully utilized and reimbursement claims should be submitted to the NABARD office before 15 March, 2026. He said that the state government was also making efforts to get more MLA priority projects approved by NABARD by March 2026.

Sh. Sukhu said that in these three years the present state government had focused on public welfare policies, transparent governance and wide-ranging reforms. The aim of the government’s policies was to strengthen the State’s economy, empower youth and women, provide security to weaker sections and establish Himachal as a prosperous, green-energy and economically self-reliant state. He said that the government was committed to rapid, inclusive and sustainable development in all sectors and for every section of society.

Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed serious concern over the decision of the 16th Finance Commission to stop the revenue deficit grant (RDG) provided to states under Article 275(1) of the Constitution. He said that this grant had been continuously provided since 1952 up to the 15th Finance Commission to ensure financial stability of states. Stopping it for the first time was unjust to hill states like Himachal Pradesh, which face difficult geographical conditions. He said that Himachal Pradesh contributes significantly to environmental protection by imposing a complete ban on tree felling and also supplies water to other states through rivers originating here. In such circumstances, discontinuing the RDG was against the interests of the state.

He said that the 15th Finance Commission had recommended a revenue deficit grant of Rs. 37,199 crore for the state. Additionally, during the COVID-19 period, the previous BJP government received Rs. 11,431 crore as revenue deficit grant based on the interim report of the Finance Commission. He said that stopping this grant would cause a loss of nearly Rs. 50,000 crore to the state.

The Chief Minister said that the state government would now have to take tough decisions to increase revenue along with ensuring efficient financial management. He criticized the upcoming Union Budget, saying that it ignores the middle class and farmers. Agriculture and horticulture were the backbone of Himachal Pradesh’s economy, yet the central budget has neither provided subsidies for orchardists nor mentioned infrastructure development for them.

He also said that no concrete announcement was made regarding the expansion of the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur and Chandigarh-Baddi railway projects. He described the budget as being against the spirit of cooperative federalism and said that instead of making small hill states like Himachal Pradesh self-reliant, it pushes them further into debt. He demanded restoration of the revenue deficit grant and a special economic package for the state.

Una District

MLA Chintpurni Sudarshan Babloo thanked the Chief Minister for providing Rs. 130 crore for the expansion of Chintpurni Temple. He demanded early completion of the Stothar Bridge and the Chowki-Manyar college. He also sought the construction of a sub fire station at Jol and strengthening of the road network.

MLA Gagret Rakesh Kalia thanked the Chief Minister for providing two crore rupee for Gagret Hospital and requested the release of the remaining funds to complete the project. He also urged completion of the Bhadrakali ITI building and buildings of six Government Senior Secondary Schools. He demanded sewerage facilities at Daulatpur Chowk and Mubarakpur and adequate funds for flood protection.

MLA Una Satpal Satti demanded a sewerage scheme for newly included villages in Una Municipal Corporation. He also sought strengthening of the city’s drainage system, construction of the Santoshgarh-Una bridge, completion of the BDO office building and strengthening of the Bhabhaur Sahib irrigation scheme.

MLA Kutlehar Vivek Sharma thanked the Chief Minister for providing Rs. 36.89 crore for various Jal Shakti Department schemes and Rs. 14.93 crore for new drinking water schemes. He demanded completion of the sewerage scheme at Bangana, strengthening of Bangana-Shantla and Thanakalan-Bhakra roads and opening of a Sub-Judge Court at Bangana.

Hamirpur District

MLA Bhoranj Suresh Kumar demanded early construction of the Ladraur-Patta drinking water scheme and strengthening of basic infrastructure in Bhoranj Nagar Panchayat. He also sought construction of a new Sub-Judge Court building, a sewerage scheme and thanked the Chief Minister for sanctioning Rs. 23.75 crore for a Critical Care Unit in Bhoranj.

MLA Sujanpur Ranjit Singh requested early completion of the BDO office and PHC Chabutra buildings. He demanded up-gradation of the Tauni Devi-Uhal Kakkar Jangalberi road and filling of vacant doctor posts in Tauni Devi and Sujanpur hospitals.

MLA Barsar Inder Dutt Lakhanpal sought construction of new bus stands at Barsar and Bhota. He also requested strengthening of health services, construction of a new building for Rally Jajri School and starting PHC Chakmoh. He demanded Volvo bus service from Deotsidh and a bus service between Barsar and AIIMS.

Sirmaur District

MLA Pachhad Reena Kashyap demanded promotion of tourism, stating that Habban Valley, Shirgul Maharaj and Bhureshwar Mahadev temples have great tourism potential. She sought early completion of the Government Senior Secondary School building at Habban.

MLA Nahan Ajay Solanki raised the issue of Nahan Medical College and demanded establishment of a cardiology department and filling of staff nurse posts. He thanked the Chief Minister for approving three road projects and requested construction of the Bhojpur Bridge. He also sought a solution to low voltage electricity problems.

MLA Shree Renukaji Vinay Kumar demanded promotion of religious tourism and de-silting of Shree Renukaji Lake. He urged faster completion of the process to bring lions to Shree Renukaji Zoo. He sought strengthening of the road network, health services at Adarsh Health Institute Sangrah, construction of a college building and bus stand at Dadahu and opening of an electricity division at Sangrah.

MLA Paonta Sahib Sukh Ram Chaudhary demanded early completion of under-construction educational institution buildings. He requested speedy completion of the Navghat Bridge connecting Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, strengthening of the road network, repair of Giri irrigation canals and improvement of power load in the Paonta industrial area.

State Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Bhawani Singh Pathania expressed hope that the valuable suggestions given by MLAs would accelerate the pace of development in the State.

Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta presented the vote of thanks.

Principal Secretary (Finance) Devesh Kumar welcomed the Chief Minister.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, administrative secretaries, department heads, concerned Deputy Commissioners and other senior officers were present at the meeting

Solan District

MLA Arki Sanjay Awasthi said that roads in his constituency were badly damaged during disasters and requested adequate funds for their repair. He said that denial of the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) to Himachal Pradesh by the Central Government was unjust and it would cause an annual loss of Rs.10,000 crore to the state. He said that the state has been deprived of its constitutional rights. Despite this, he thanked the Chief Minister for organizing meetings on MLA priorities.

MLA Nalagarh Hardeep Singh Bawa said that the foundation stone for bridges constructed with amount of Rs.14 crore was recently laid by the Chief Minister and about 80 per cent of the work has already been completed. He said that work on roads to be constructed by spending Rs. 66 crore was underway in his area and would be completed soon and benefit the people of the area. He demanded installation of 20 tube wells and opening of a Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding School at Nangal.

MLA Doon Ram Kumar thanked the Chief Minister for providing five major offices in his constituency, including SDM and BDO offices. He said that roads in his area were also badly damaged during disasters and requested funds for their repair. He urged early commencement of the ISBT Baddi project and sought budget allocation for construction of the SDM office building in Baddi.

MLA Kasauli Vinod Sultanpuri expressed gratitude for approval of all priorities from the previous year, stating that this has led to the start of works worth Rs. 200 crore in his constituency, benefiting the people. He demanded strengthening of the road network and healthcare services in the area.

Chamba District

MLA Churah Hans Raj demanded that the construction work of government office buildings in his constituency be expedited. He urged for better healthcare services at Tissa Hospital. He said that the Churah Assembly constituency has immense potential for tourism and it should be developed, which would create employment opportunities for local people. He also demanded the launch of heli-taxi services in Chamba.

MLA Bharmaur Dr. Janak Raj raised the issue of construction of the Holi-Utrala road.

MLA Chamba Neeraj Nayyar said that the state government has provided Rs. 6.33 crore for the construction of a mini secretariat in Chamba. He demanded additional funds to complete the building. He also urged to expedite the construction of drinking water schemes in the area. He expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for providing four crore rupee for preparing the DPR (Detailed Project Report) of the Chamba-Chuwari tunnel.

MLA Dalhousie D.S. Thakur said that the roads in his constituency were badly damaged during the disaster and funds should be provided for their repair. He urged that FCA clearances for various projects be expedited. He also demanded improvement in healthcare services in the area.

Bilaspur District

MLA Jhandutta Jeet Ram Katwal raised the issue of constructing irrigation and drinking water schemes in the Jhanduta Assembly constituency. He urged that the construction of approach roads to three bridges in his area should be sped up.

MLA Bilaspur Trilok Jamwal demanded that after the completion of the ongoing sewerage construction work in Bilaspur, the roads should be properly paved. He also urged that tourism activities be promoted at Govind Sagar and Kol Dam. In addition, he demanded a scheme to protect farmer's crops from stray animals.

MLA Shree Naina Devi Ji Randhir Sharma urged that the formalities for 35 roads approved under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana be completed at the earliest. He demanded strengthening of the Navgaon-Bagha road. He also sought funds for the construction of the Naina Devi Civil Hospital building and urged that the construction of the ICU building in Naina Devi be expedited.

Lahaul-Spiti District

MLA Lahaul-Spiti Anuradha Rana urged that the Lahaul-Spiti Assembly constituency should be connected with heli-taxi services. She pressed for the construction of the Kunzum Tunnel. She demanded relaxation in hotel registration conditions in tribal areas to promote tourism activities in the region. She expressed her gratitude to the Chief Minister for providing five specialist doctors in her constituency. She also demanded strengthening of the roads in the area.

Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta presented the vote of thanks. Principal Secretary (Finance) Devesh Kumar welcomed all dignitaries to the meeting.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Health Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, Vice-Chairman of the State Planning Commission Bhawani Singh Pathania, along with administrative secretaries, department heads and senior officers were present on the occasion.

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Government makes RIDF provision of Rs. 758.81 crore for 2025-26: CM

• Discusses MLA priorities with MLAs of Solan, Chamba, Bilaspur, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu held discussions with MLAs from Solan, Chamba, Bilaspur, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts during the second session on the first day to discuss MLA priorities for the financial year 2026-27. He said that the state government has made a budget provision of Rs. 758.81 crore under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for the financial year 2025-26.

He directed departments that if any Detailed Project Report (DPR) of MLA priority projects sent to NABARD for approval under RIDF has already been approved under any other head, the concerned department should immediately inform the Planning Department in writing so that the DPR can be withdrawn from NABARD and records can be reconciled without delay.

The Chief Minister said that the state suffered heavy loss of life and property due to intense rainfall and cloudbursts in 2023 and 2025. He said that the state government provided adequate financial assistance for relief and rehabilitation from its own resources.

Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that for the welfare of the people, the government has identified health, education, rural economy, tourism, energy, food processing and data storage as priority sectors. He said that to provide quality healthcare close to people’s homes, modern facilities such as robotic surgery, State Cancer Institute, DSA, advanced testing laboratories, bone marrow transplant apheresis units and PET scan machines have been installed.

He said that robotic surgery has been started in the first phase at AIMSS Chamiyana and Tanda Medical College and in the coming time, this facility would be made available in all medical colleges. He said that a PET scan machine would be installed at IGMC Shimla within two months and at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda within six months. He added that 3-Tesla MRI machines would be installed in all medical colleges in the state within the next three months.

The Chief Minister said that improving healthcare was the top most priority of the present state government and Rs. 3,000 crore would be spent on high-end medical technology over the next two years.

He said that along with health, major reforms were also being implemented in the education sector. He announced that 140 CBSE schools and four Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding Schools would be opened. He said that to ensure safe drinking water, modern ozonation technology would be introduced for water purification in the state’s drinking water schemes.

Sh. Sukhu said that the present state government was emphasizing good governance. Over the past three years, 5.70 lakh mutation cases have been done and 80 percent of revenue correction would be made by 31 March.