Yog Raj Sharma
The North News
Shimla, March 18
The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to immediately remove officers with “doubtful integrity” (ODI) who were given service extensions or reappointments, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told the Assembly on Wednesday. The announcement came after opposition MLA Satpal Satti raised the issue in the House. Responding to the concern, Sukhu said the government would not merely offer assurances but would take direct action against officers allegedly linked to corruption.
“I will not just assure the House. The government is directly removing officers involved in corruption,” the Chief Minister said. During the debate, Sukhu also launched a sharp attack on the opposition BJP, accusing it of presenting “incorrect facts” in the Assembly and claiming internal factionalism within the party had weakened its role as an effective opposition.
He said the BJP was divided into multiple factions and alleged this had left the Leader of the Opposition under pressure, resulting in repeated criticism of the government without substance. Highlighting his government’s performance, the chief minister said crop procurement had begun this year under the natural farming scheme, which he claimed was providing direct benefits to farmers.
On health spending, Sukhu said the present government had spent ₹1,000 crore under the Himcare scheme and ₹202 crore under the Sahara scheme, compared with ₹202 crore spent on Himcare by the previous BJP government.
He also accused the previous government of constructing “unusable buildings” worth around ₹1,000 crore to benefit contractor associates, an allegation likely to intensify the political confrontation between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP.
On the issue of a dress code for government employees, Sukhu said the state had not made any specific attire compulsory. He clarified that employees had only been advised to wear “decent clothes” and that the administration was simply enforcing guidelines first issued in 2021.
The chief minister added that officers and employees had also been asked to avoid unnecessary activity on social media.
