Rs 1,000 crore loss suffered, Sukhu urges Shah for higher grants

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and sought enhanced Central aid considering the state suffered Rs 1,000 crore loss in recent cloudbursts and flashfloods.

Sukhu apprised Shah of large-scale damage caused by heavy monsoonal rains that have just started. “Natural disasters have become a recurring phenomenon since 2023 and the state has incurred cumulative losses of around Rs 21,000 crore in the past three years,” he added.

He informed Shah that precious lives had been lost and key infrastructure, including roads, bridges, buildings, irrigation schemes, water supply schemes and electricity supply systems, had been severely affected in the disaster. The Union Home Minister assured the Chief Minister of all possible assistance to the state.

Sukhu said, “The state government is making every possible effort to provide relief to the affected people through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). However, due to recurrence of disasters, it has become increasingly difficult for the state to undertake restoration work and rebuild infrastructure with its limited resources.”

He said that the existing guidelines fixed by the Central Government regarding the sanction of relief and restoration activities were inadequate, considering the difficult topographical conditions of the state. He urged Shah for amendments to the existing norms, specifically a raise in the current limit from 10 per cent to 30 per cent, which would provide significant support to the state in its relief and restoration efforts.

The Chief Minister also sought help from Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in the repair and reconstruction of damaged roads in Himachal. He called on Gadkari in New Delhi and apprised him about the delay in national highway projects due to various reasons and requested him to address the issue at the earliest and start construction work. He also urged Gadkari to include a few roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti Yojana.

Sukhu stressed tunnelling in national highway projects and expediting the work on the roads of strategic importance that had already been raised with the Defence Ministry.

He also urged the Union Minister to sanction more ropeway projects for the state to ease traffic congestion. Gadkari assured Sukhu of all possible assistance to the state and gave necessary directions to the officers concerned.

Himachal Tribune