Himachal Pradesh Government

CM participates in candlelight march in protest against Pahalgam Terror attack

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today joined a candlelight march organized by the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, held from Sher-e-Punjab to the historic Ridge Maidan in Shimla. The march was held in protest against the terror attack on the tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025. Congress leaders paid heartfelt tributes to the victims and expressed deep solidarity with the bereaved families.

In-charge of State Congress Party Affairs and Rajya Sabha MP Rajni Patil, HPCC President Pratibha Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Health Minister Col (Dr.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, Mayor Surinder Chauhan, Chairman HPTDC R.S Bali, Vice Chairman State Planning board Bhawani Singh Pathania, Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, MLAs, Senior Congress Party leaders and workers besides many others also took part in the protest.

Chief Minister said that any type of cowardly act won't be tolerated as it happened in Pahalgam. The Congress Party stands united with the Union Government in the fight against terrorism. "We wow to eliminate those external forces, who try to disturb the peace and pose threat to the security of the Nation" he said, adding that the Congress leaders including former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajeev Gandhi laid their lives for the Unity and Integrity of the Nation. The killing of 28 tourists in Pahalgam, was yet an another brutal attack on the Integrity, security and sovereignty of India and the congress Party stands with the bereaved family members.

He said that the All India Congress Committee and Himachal Pradesh Government paid their sincere tributes to the family members of the Pahalgam victims and stand firmly with the Union Government to deliver a strong rebuttal to any external forces attempting to undermine the Unity and Integrity of the Country.

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Two minutes silence observed in memory of victims of Pahalgam terror attack

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu led the State in paying rich tributes to the person, who lost their lives in Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April, 2025. Two minutes silence was observed in their memory in the premises of H.P. Secretariat, here today.

The Chief Minister said, "Today we are observing silence from the Secretariat and all the Deputy Commissioner Offices in the honour of all those persons who were killed in the gruesome terror attack. We also extend our sympathies with the bereaved families and the entire nation shares their sorrow in this dark hour."

Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board Bhawani Singh Pathania, Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, MLA Anuradha Rana, Principal Media Advisor to the Chief Minister Naresh Chauhan, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, OSD to Chief Minister Gopal Sharma, senior officers, officers and officials of H.P. Secretariat were also present on the occasion.

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CM instructs to clear first installment of pending liabilities by 28 April
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while presiding over the meeting of the Finance department here today, instructed to clear all the pending liabilities of contractors of the Public Works Department and Jal Shakti Vibhag before 30 April, 2025.

He said that the first installment of the pending liabilities will be disbursed before 28 April and the remaining amount by 30^th of this month. He directed both the departments to work speedily to prepare the bills and ensure their timely submission to the treasuries for payment. He also instructed the PWD and Jal Shakti Vibhag officers to present their department's bills after 10^th of every month as the state receives central taxes on 10^th of every month.

MLA Sunder Singh Thakur, Principal Advisor Media to Chief Minister Naresh Chauhan, Additional Chief Secretary Onkar Chand Sharma, Principal Secretary, Finance Devesh Kumar, Secretary, Finance Dr. Abhishek Jain, Engineer-in- Chief, PWD N.P. Singh, Engineer-in-Chief Jal Shakti Vibhag Anju Sharma and other senior officers attended the meeting.

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CM discusses border development and collaboration with ITBP
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today held a meeting with Sanjay Gunjyal, Frontier Commander of the Northern Frontier Headquarters of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Dehradun.

During the meeting a detailed discussions were held regarding the role of ITBP in the border districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti and issues concerning security along the India-China border. Apart from this, various topics were deliberated upon, including a roadmap for promoting border tourism in the frontier regions of the state, procurement of local produce for ITBP supplies, and provision of medical services to local communities through ITBP healthcare facilities.

The Chief Minister said that to strengthen disaster management the state government would establish improved coordination with ITBP’s regional response centre. He said that helipads located in ITBP-controlled zones could be utilized to promote tourism in remote areas. All formalities in this regard would be completed in consultation with the force, which would also help enhance connectivity.

Shri. Sukhu said that the state government was taking several steps to strengthen the rural economy. If ITBP procures food products directly from local residents, it would create employment opportunities and benefit farmers and horticulturists.

He urged ITBP officials to prioritize the involvement of local residents in construction projects after completing all requisite formalities.

The Chief Minister also directed the state officials to expedite all procedures for establishing communication towers in border areas.

He lauded the developmental efforts and other initiatives undertaken by the ITBP in frontier regions.

Commander Sanjay Gunjyal briefed the Chief Minister about steps taken under the Vibrant Village Programme for the construction of three proposed roads in the Sangla Valley and Kaurik area. He also shared details of 15 additional roads proposed in remote and forward border regions of the state.

Deputy Chief Minister virtually attended the meeting and shared his views and suggestions.

Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Chairman, Milkfed Budhi Singh Thakur, OSD to the Chief Minister Gopal Sharma, Secretary Animal Husbandry Ritesh Chauhan, DIG ITBP Pawan KR Negi and Barinderjit Singh, Commandant Vasant Nogal and Sunil Kumar Senani and other senior officers were present in the meeting.

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Rs. 2000 crore to be spent on strengthening Agriculture and Horticulture sectors: CM
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that the state government was committed to boost the rural economy by strengthening the agriculture and horticulture sectors. He said that an amount of Rs. 2,000 crore would be spent during the present financial year for this purpose.

He was presiding over a meeting with the senior officials of departments of Agriculture, Horticulture and other allied sectors, here today. He said that the state government was working to develop most favourable infrastructure for the processing and marketing of agricultural and horticultural produce. He said that in alignment with this vision, innovative measures were also being undertaken with a positive outlook to enhance the dairy sector.

Shri Sukhu emphasized the significant contribution of livestock in strengthening the rural economy. He said that the state government launched the 'Him Ganga Yojana' on a pilot basis in the districts of Hamirpur and Kangra. Apart from this, Milkfed had established 120 automated and 32 digital milk collection units in the districts of Mandi, Kullu and Shimla.

The Chief Minister further said that with a view to promote natural farming, the government had fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of turmeric, wheat and maize produced under natural farming at Rs. 90, Rs. 60, and Rs. 40 per kilogram respectively for this financial year. The government also aims to bring one lakh new farmers under natural farming this year, and all such farmers would be linked with the ‘Him Parivar Register’.

Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar, Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi, MLA Ashish Butail, Chairman, Milkfed Bhdhi Singh Thakur, Secretary, Animal Husbandry Ritesh Chauhan, Managing Director, Milkfed Vikas Sood and other senior officers were present in the meeting.

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Govt. to evolve a mechanism to check corrupt practices pertaining to transit passes
The state government will evolve a mechanism to check corrupt practices associated with the misuse of transit passes in the transportation of minerals to prevent royalty losses and maintain the pace of developmental works in the State. These directions were given by the Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while presiding over a meeting of Industries department, here today.

The Chief Minister expressed concern over reports indicating the use of fake transit passes on multiple occasions for mineral transportation, resulting in significant royalty losses to the state exchequer. To address this, the state government had earlier introduced Rule 81A, which mandates a deduction of Rs. 80 as royalty and Rs. 20 as penalty per tonne from the Panchayats and other executing agencies undertaking developmental works, in case transit passes are not available. However, the implementation of Rule 81A is currently under stay by the High Court and the matter is scheduled for hearing on 25^th April.

In view of the situation and to ensure timely execution of developmental works, the Chief Minister instructed the Industries department to explore all possible solutions and alternates in this regard.

A delegation of representatives of PRIs also met the Chief Minister on Tuesday and urged him to address this issue.

Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, Additional Chief Secretary K.K. Pant, Advocate General, H.P. High Court Anup Rattan, Secretary Law Sharad Kumar Lagwal, Director Industries Yunus, OSD to Chief Minister Gopal Sharma and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

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