Page 3 - Himachal Pradesh

Cong challenges Kangana to prove charge against Himachal govt, Sonia Gandhi

The Himachal Pradesh Congress on Monday challenged Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut to prove her allegation that the state government took loans and diverted the money to Sonia Gandhi, failing which it said it would file a defamation case against her. Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh told reporters that her comments showed the BJP MP's "intellectual bankruptcy". "There cannot be a bigger foolish statement than saying that funds coming from the Centre or the state's funds for development are being given to Sonia Gandhi," he said. "I openly challenge BJP MP Kangana Ranaut to show proof of even Rs 1 being diverted or apologise to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for making such baseless and unwarranted allegations against her. Otherwise, the Congress will file a defamation case against her," the minister added. Actor-politician Ranaut on Sunday claimed everyone was aware that Congress-ruled state governments had hollowed out their coffers. Attacking the Himachal Pradesh government, sh

Himachal govt to issue SOP soon as loan scheme expanded to education abroad

Days after the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet approved to extend benefits of the Dr YS Parmar Vidyarthi Rin Yojna to overseas education, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) will be issued in this regard soon. The state cabinet on Friday decided to expand the scope of the scheme, under which educational loan of up to Rs 20 lakh is provided at one per cent to eligible students aspiring to pursue professional and vocational courses, to include overseas educational institutions. On Sunday, Sukhu said that this initiative will benefit students aspiring to pursue higher studies in foreign institutions, ensuring that financial limitations do not stand in the way of their educational aspirations. A detailed SOP will be issued in this regard by the education department soon, he added. The state government launched the loan scheme last year to support the eligible meritorious students of economically weaker sections. Students from ...

156 roads, one NH closed in HP as rain continues to lash parts of state

A total of 156 roads including National Highway 5 (Hindustan-Tibet Road) were closed for vehicular movement in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday morning as rain continues to lash parts of the state, officials said. Moderate rain continued in some parts of the state with Katula logging the highest rainfall of 78.5 mm, since Friday evening, the meteorological department said. During this period Palampur recorded 68 mm rainfall, followed by 60 mm in Baijnath, 58.4 mm in Mandi, 56.4 mm in Guler, 53 mm in Dharamshala, 51.4 mm in Kufri, 50 mm in Shimla and Jogindernagar each, 48.6 mm in Naina Devi, 46.6 mm in Kangra, 46 mm in Nagrota Suriyanas, it said. The National Highway 5 (Hindustan-Tibet Road) was closed at Malling Nallah in Kinnaur district following landslide and falling of shooting stones. A maximum of 94 roads are closed in Shimla, 46 in Mandi, ten in Kangra, three in Kullu and one each in Bilapsur, Kinnaur and Sirmaur districts due to rains, landslide and flash floods as per the Sta

Freebies, declining central grants: Himachal's uphill task to fix finances

State has announced it will impose electricity consumption cess and defer salaries of ministers for two months

Mandi tension: CM Sukhu makes appeal to maintain peace, welcome tourists

Amid tension after demand for demolition of "unauthorised" mosque structure in Mandi and protests by Hindu outfits, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday appealed to the people to maintain peace and brotherhood and said tourists are welcome. "We appeal to maintain peace and brotherhood and welcome tourists," said the chief minister while addressing media persons after an all-party meeting here with state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, BJP leader Randhir Sharma, CPI(M) leader Rakesh Singha, AAP leader Surjit Singh and others. "I have appealed to everyone to maintain peace and make no provocative statements, and that is why an all-party meeting. No one is allowed to take the law into their hands. "We respect everyone. The land of Himachal has respect for all religions," the chief minister said. Referring to the protest on Friday by Hindu organisations demanding demolition of the "encroached" structure of a mosque in Mandi town, he said Himachal Pradesh is a

Protests in Himachal's Mandi over mosque built on encroached land

Police used water cannons on Friday to disperse protestors demanding the demolition of a mosque built on encroached land in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi town. The protestors initially held a march in the Mandi market area and sat on a dharna at Seri manch. Later, when they made attempts to proceed towards the mosque, police stopped them and used water cannons to bring the situation under control. Security had been beefed up by the police in Mandi with the deployment of heavy force after Hindu outfits gave the call for a protest march. On Thursday, members of the Muslim community had themselves demolished an unauthorised portion of the mosque located on Jail Road in the town. The mosque stands on land belonging to the public works department. Both the PWD and the municipal corporation had served notices to the mosque management over this.

IMD predicts light to moderate rainfall in some Himachal Pradesh districts

Additionally, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Solan districts are expected to receive light rainfall for the next two to three hours

Heavy rain over last few days lead to closure of over 60 roads in Himachal

Over 60 roads have been blocked in Himachal Pradesh following rains in the past days, officials said on Monday. A maximum of 30 roads were closed in Shimla, 16 in Mandi, 10 in Kangra, two in Kullu and one each in Kinnaur, Una, Sirmaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts, the state emergency operation centre (SEOC) said. As many as 17 power schemes are also disrupted in the state, the SEOC said. Light rains lashed few parts of the state since Sunday evening. Kasauli was the wettest, recording 25 mm of rain followed by 18.6 mm in Shimla, 16 mm in Jubbarhatti, 12.3 mm in Kufri, 12.2 mm in Naina Devi, 8.4 mm in Solan, 5.2 mm in Berthin and 5 mm in Dalhousie. Himachal Pradesh's rainfall deficit since the onset of monsoon in the state on June 27 stands at 21 per cent, with the state receiving 524.1 mm rainfall against an average of 663.9 mm. A total of 158 people have died in rain-related incidents during the ongoing monsoon season from June 27 till September 7, while 30 are still missing.

Best of BS Opinion: Warning signs, enabling environments and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Himachal's fiscal condition is a lesson for states in what not to do

Rising competitive populism among states could seriously undermine India's long-term potential

Over 60 roads blocked in Himachal Pradesh following heavy rains today

Over 60 roads have been blocked in Himachal Pradesh following rains, officials said on Sunday. A maximum of 31 roads were closed in Mandi, 13 in Shimla and Mandi, 10 in Kangra, four in Kinnaur, two in Kullu and one each in Una, Sirmaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts, the state emergency operation centre (SEOC) said. National Highway 5 (the Hindustan-Tibet road) is blocked near Negulsari in Kinnaur district. As many as 11 power and one water supply scheme are also disrupted in the state, the SEOC said. Moderate rains lashed parts of the state since Saturday evening. Una was the wettest, recording 48 mm of rain followed by Kufri 19.8 mm, Sangla 17.2 mm, Jubbarhatti 15.6 mm, Mandi 15.6 mm, Nichar 14.8 mm, Bijahi 14 mm, Kalpa 8.1, Berthin 7 mm, Dehra Gopipur 6.3 mm and Dalhousie 5 mm. Himachal Pradesh's rainfall deficit since the onset of monsoon in the state on June 27 stands at 21 per cent, with the state receiving 522.2 mm rainfall against an average of 657.9 mm. A total of 158 peo

State govt to bear only 28% of Shimla's Ropeway project: Himachal CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh government would bear only 28 per cent cost of Rs 1,734.70 crore Shimla Innovative Urban Transportation Ropeway Network Project, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said in the state assembly on Thursday. The 13.65 km long Ropeway from Tara Devi to Shimla would be executed on EPS (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode, he said in a written response to a question by BJP's Sudhir Sharma. The rate of interest would be finalised after a tripartite agreement between the state government, Finance Ministry and Department of Economic Affairs and Government of India, he said. The fare for commuters has not been decided yet, Sukhu said. Tenders for advance purchases would be invited only after approval from National Development Bank. The contribution of the state government would be 20 per cent while NDB funding would be 80 per cent of which 90 per cent would be subsidy and 10 per cent would be loans. Adding the loan component, the contribution of the state ...

Explained: Himachal Pradesh's financial crisis

Explained: Himachal's financial woes and efforts to regain fiscal control

Himachal Pradesh government has revoked pensions for disqualified MLAs, withdrawn subsidies, and adjusted salary and pension payments to save costs amid mounting debt and fiscal pressures

Himachal Assembly passes Bill, bars defected MLAs from receiving pension

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday passed a Bill which will bar the members of the House who are disqualified under Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law) from drawing pension. The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members (Amendment) Bill, 2024 will affect six former Congress MLAs, who were disqualified by the Speaker for defying the whip and abstaining from the House during discussion on cut motions and passing of Budget in February. The opposition BJP objected to the Bill stating that it smacks of "political revenge" and it cannot be implemented with retrospective effect. The six former MLAs who will be impacted due to the Bill are Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Rajinder Rana, Devinder Kumar Bhutto, Chetanya Sharma and Ravi Thakur. All of them had voted in favour of the BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan during the Rajya Sabha elections held in February. All six had contested the bypolls on BJP tickets earlier this year. While

Himachal bill to end pension for MLAs disqualified under anti-defection law

Earlier this year, six Congress MLAs - Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar - were disqualified under the anti-defection law

Medical device park in Himachal to provide 10,000 jobs, state Assembly told

The Medical Device Park being set up on 265 acres in Solan district would create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, Himachal Pradesh Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan told the state assembly on Tuesday. The upcoming park in Manjholi village panchayat under Nalagarh assembly constituency would provide direct and indirect employment to 10,000 persons, Chauhan said in response to a question. The minister said that the state government will bear the entire expenditure on the project which is expected to be completed by December 31, 2025. No technical sanction was pending and there is possibility of setting up 65 industrial units under the project, he added. Meanwhile, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu informed the state assembly that 2,708 cases of forest fires were reported during six months of the current year ending June 2024, but there was no loss of human life. In reply to another question of BJP member Sukh Ram Chowdhary, the chief minister said that out of 55 hotels ru

Met warns of flash flood risk in Himachal, 109 roads shut amid heavy rains

It also issued a 'yellow' alert of heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places in nine out of 12 districts in the state, barring Kinnaur, Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti till Tuesday

HP govt to open one model health centre in every assembly constituency: CM

The Himachal Pradesh government is focusing on strengthening health care services and the government has decided to open one model health centre in every assembly constituency, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in the Vidhan Sabha on Monday. There are 68 assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. Intervening in reply to a question of Anuradha Rana (Congress), Sukhu said nine staff nurses are being sent to all the model health institutions. Replying to the main question, Health and Family Welfare minister Dr Dhani Ram Shandil informed that 600 appointments of different categories will be made shortly under the National Health Mission (NHM) and there will be no shortage of staff in the model health centres. He said the matter regarding the appointment of 600 doctors has been sent to the State Public Service Commission and 37 posts of female health workers have been sanctioned for the model health centres. Replying to another question of Kewal Singh Pathania (Congress), th

Himachal mulls freebies rollback: Why is the state in a financial tangle?

Promises like reviving the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), paying Rs 1,500 to women, and providing free power have contributed to the financial strain, with the state now facing a debt of Rs 86,589 crore