Shimla: Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and ministers Vikramaditya Singh and Chandresh Kumar on Thursday said the state had protected its interests in the Kishau multipurpose dam project by resisting the proposed financial liability .The project is coming up on the Tons river along the Himachal-Uttarakhand border.Addressing a public meeting at Rail in Hamirpur district, Sukhu asked BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Jai Ram Thakur to seek clarification from Uttarakhand over its concerns about the project. He said Himachal would get benefits worth around Rs 1,500 crore without additional investment, while Uttarakhand would have to invest around Rs 3,000 crore for similar benefits.Sukhu said the govt had held three meetings on the project since taking office and pursued the state’s interests in the negotiations.In a joint statement, Vikramaditya and Chandresh said while the Centre played a key role in bringing the six participating states together, the state govt had opposed the financial burden proposed for Himachal. The previous BJP govt had agreed to contribute around Rs 800 crore, they said, while the present govt rejected the liability citing limited resources and the project’s social and environmental costs.They said negotiations resulted in an estimated Rs 2,000-crore liability being shifted to beneficiary states Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana. Himachal would receive around 1,000 million units of electricity annually, worth an estimated Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 1,500 crore, they said.The ministers questioned BJP leaders’ claims of exclusive credit and asked them to make the documentary record public. They said the govt would continue pursuing Himachal’s rights over its water and power resources, including the Bhakra Beas Management Board and Shanan Power Project.Protected state’s other rights too: CMSukhu said his govt had also pursued cases involving Himachal’s financial interests. He cited the Wildflower Hall Hotel case in Shimla, saying the Supreme Court verdict brought Rs 401 crore into the state exchequer and generated additional monthly revenue. In the JSW power royalty case, he said the state would receive around Rs 150 crore annually following the Supreme Court’s decision.On health, Sukhu said staffing in medical colleges had improved from around 35% under the previous BJP govt to nearly 60%, while recruitment of doctors and paramedical staff was continuing. He announced that the country’s first allied healthcare college would begin this year at Karandola in Nadaun.On education, Sukhu said Himachal’s ranking in quality education had risen from 21st in 2021 to fifth in three-and-a-half years of the Congress govt. He reiterated that the govt would continue with the old pension scheme and work towards making the state self-reliant by 2027.He also inaugurated a health centre building and laid foundation stones for school and ITI infrastructure projects at Rail.
