BJP seeks white paper on Himachal disaster relief funds

BJP MLA and state media in-charge Randhir Sharma has demanded a white paper from Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on the utilisation of central disaster relief funds, alleging irregularities in expenditure and seeking an impartial investigation into their allocation and use.

Addressing a press conference in Shimla, Sharma said the Centre had provided thousands of crores to Himachal Pradesh under various relief and rehabilitation heads, including SDRF, SDMF, NDRF and PDNA. He demanded that the state government disclose the amount received, department-wise allocations, constituency-wise expenditure and payments made to contractors.

Citing the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), Sharma said a reconstruction plan worth Rs 2,006.40 crore had been approved, of which the Centre’s share was Rs 1,504.80 crore. He alleged that funds were being spent on works beyond those approved under disaster relief programmes.

The BJP leader also alleged that constituencies represented by BJP legislators were being overlooked while areas represented by Congress leaders received priority. He sought an investigation into changes in the Public Works Department’s offline tender limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, alleged division of major projects into smaller works and payments reportedly made without execution of work.

Sharma said the government should make the complete expenditure details public if it had nothing to hide. He also questioned Chief Minister Sukhu’s announcements during visits to assembly constituencies, alleging that the government lacked funds for road repairs, replacement of HRTC bus tyres and release of MLA funds.

He termed the announcements as political moves ahead of elections and said the BJP would continue to raise questions over disaster relief expenditure and the state’s financial position.