Shimla, Aug. 31 -- As the hill state witnessed heavy destruction owing to rains, public works and urban development minister Vikramaditya Singh called for an "environment friendly" development model.

Singh was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day sports competition of Under-14 Boys and Girls category of Kasumpti block at Government Model Senior Secondary School Ghanahatti in Shimla.

"Development should not be known as a reason for destruction. In fact there should be no destruction due to development works," said Singh while sharing that from August 24 to 27, the state has suffered a loss of Rs.800 crore due to the disaster while the losses incurred by the state since June 20 are around Rs.3000 crore.

Admitting that restoratio...