Shimla. Political controversy has intensified in Himachal Pradesh regarding the use of funds released for disaster relief and reconstruction. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu of alleged irregularities in the use of funds received for disaster reconstruction. BJP leaders have demanded the government to make the complete information of expenditure public and release assembly constituency wise white paper. The party says that the funds received for helping the disaster affected people and rebuilding the damaged infrastructure should be used as per the prescribed objectives. BJP MLA and state media in-charge Randhir Sharma alleged that the benefit of the amount sanctioned by the Central Government for post-disaster reconstruction is not reaching the actual affected people as expected. He claimed that roads and other essential facilities are still damaged at many places, even though huge funds have been made available for reconstruction. He has demanded an independent investigation and financial audit in this regard.
In fact, due to the natural disaster that occurred in Himachal Pradesh in the year 2023, there was extensive damage to roads, bridges and public properties. The Central Government had approved a scheme of Rs 2,006.40 crore under Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) for reconstruction in the affected areas. According to BJP leaders, the central government’s share in this scheme was fixed at Rs 1,504.80 crore. Senior BJP spokesperson and MLA Trilok Jamwal said that under the scheme, Rs 451.44 crore was released by the Center as the first installment. After this, under the government order dated January 13, 2026, Rs 753.29 crore was sanctioned in the second installment for various departments. In this, the assistance of the Central Government has been given as Rs 564.97 crore and the share of the State Government has been given as Rs 188.32 crore. He said that for the reconstruction works, Rs 487.80 crore was allocated to the Public Works Department, Rs 176.48 crore to the Jal Shakti Department, Rs 29.13 crore to the Agriculture Department and Rs 18.22 crore to the Electricity Board. BJP raised the question why despite such huge funds being sanctioned, roads and other basic facilities could not be completely restored in various areas.
BJP leaders allege that serious questions have arisen regarding the tender process and payment in some projects. The party claimed that it had received complaints of undue favors being given to some contractors with political connections. However, the findings of the independent investigation into these allegations have not been made public. Randhir Sharma alleged that the limits of the tender process for works related to PDNA were changed. According to him, earlier online tender process was adopted for works costing more than Rs 1 lakh, whereas in related reconstruction works this limit was reduced to Rs 5 lakh. The BJP expressed apprehension that this created scope for contracts to be allotted by dividing big works into smaller parts. The BJP also alleged that at some places, complaints had come to the fore of work being completed without payment. The party demanded that the government should conduct an impartial investigation in such cases and if irregularities are proved, the accountability of the concerned officers and contractors should be fixed.
The opposition has demanded to make public the complete details of the schemes approved for disaster reconstruction in all 68 assembly seats of the state. It has been asked to include information on the cost of each project, tender process, name of the contractor, ongoing payments, progress of work and completion status. BJP says the government should also make it clear how many projects have been completed, how many projects are in progress and how many works have been physically verified. Apart from this, information about the utilization certificates issued by the concerned departments should also be made public. Trilok Jamwal said that the funds released for disaster reconstruction should be used only for the restoration of sanctioned and disaster affected properties. He claimed that people are facing problems in many areas due to bad roads and traffic related problems. In such a situation, the government should tell which works have been completed with the prescribed amount.
BJP has also raised the demand for physical verification of construction works along with special financial audit. The party says that the public has the right to know where and how the funds provided for the reconstruction of disaster affected areas were spent. On this issue, BJP has also adopted the strategy of cornering the state government at the political level. Randhir Sharma said that if the government does not give a satisfactory explanation on the use of funds, the party will raise the matter within the Assembly and with the public. At the same time, differences have arisen in the past between the state government and the opposition regarding central assistance for disaster relief and reconstruction. Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been demanding additional assistance from the Centre. The state government’s stand has been that in view of the difficult geographical conditions of Himachal and the extensive disaster damage, adequate financial assistance is necessary for reconstruction. At present, no specific fresh reply from the state government has been available on the allegations made by the BJP. In such a situation, the alleged financial irregularities cannot be considered as proven facts. connection
Allegations of misuse of disaster fund; response sought from Sukhu government
