India, July 20 -- As Himachal Pradesh continues to grapple with the devastation caused by cloudbursts, landslides, and flash floods over the past three weeks, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu faces a formidable challenge of delivering timely reliefand rehabilitation. From rushing to disaster-hit areas to engaging with Union ministers, he is leaving no stone unturned to mitigate the aftermath of the second major natural calamity to strike the hill state over the last two years. In a wide-ranging conversation withExecutive Editor Ramesh Vinayak at his official Oakover residence in Shimla on Saturday, the 61-year-old senior Congress leader discussed the challenges ahead, his expectations from the Centre, and his key priorities for the second half of his five-year term. Edited excerpts: The recent disaster has caused an estimated loss of Rs.1,100 crore. At least 85 lives have been lost, and 34 people are still missing. Mandi district and adjoining parts of Kullu have borne the brunt of the damage. A hydro-electric project in the region alone suffered losses worth Rs.100 crore. The calamity has also severely hit the monsoon tourism season. The monsoon began just three weeks ago and is still active-it's difficult to predict what lies ahead. It's primarily due to climate change. Until a few years ago, the cold desert regions of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur received barely 10% rainfall, but today it's closer to 30%. Climate change has led to a surge in cloudbursts, triggering violent flash floods and massive landslides with little to no warning for people in vulnerable areas. Himachal has never experienced so many monsoon-induced cloudbursts before. We've asked the Centre to commission a scientific study into this alarming phenomenon. On the instructions of Union home minister Amit Shah ji, a central team arrived in Himachal Pradesh on Friday (July 18). I've also requested him to personally visit the affected areas. I'm hopeful we'll soon receive the first tranche of central funds for relief, rehabilitation, and rebuilding damaged infrastructure. One of the biggest challenges we face is the relocation of families whose homes were completely destroyed in landslides or floods. About 68% of the land in Himachal is classified as forest land, and safe relocation is often only possible within these areas. But the state lacks the authority to approve such moves. So, I've requested the Union government to amend the Forest Act to allow diversion of one bigha of forest land per affected family. They cannot be resettled in vulnerable zones. Meanwhile, the state is offering a Rs.7 lakh relief package to people whose homes were washed away. A central team had assessed our 2023 losses at Rs.9,500 crore. However, two years later, we've received only Rs.2,000 crore in post-disaster need assessment funds-Rs.500 crore of that was from the state's own share. There was no special grant from the Centre. We only benefited from a change in disaster management rules. The state government spent Rs.4,500 crore from its own resources to rebuild damaged infrastructure. We had hoped the Centre would compensate for that, given the financial strain it placed on us. I wouldn't put it that way, but I do expect the Centre to be more generous with compensation. The Rs.1,500 crore we received last time was far too meagre, considering the scale of destruction. We've taken strong measures against illegal construction in flood-prone areas. A blanket ban is now in place on any construction within 50 metres of riverbeds and streams. Many high-risk zones have been designated as "green areas" where no construction is permitted. Based on the hard lessons of 2023, our disaster response was much swifter this time, with immediate rescue and relief operations. The Himalayan states, including Himachal, definitely require a separate budgetary allocation. Himachal is home to five rivers, which are lifelines for Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi. Besides, 34% of our area falls under cold desert zones fed by glaciers. But since the Centre doesn't count cold desert regions as forest cover, it reduces our share of central funds. That definition needs to change. Additionally, we're demanding a 12% royalty on power generated by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which Punjab and Haryana have been opposing. In 2011, the Supreme Court awarded us Rs.4,300 crore as our share from BBMB, but we've yet to receive a single rupee. A legal fight is now our only option. A: Currently, the Centre allocates funds for afforestation, but there's no incentive for preserving existing forests. Himachal has imposed a complete ban on tree cutting, but receives no additional grants for that effort. Our forests act as the lungs of North India. A Green Fund should reward forest preservation and discourage illegal deforestation. We need new parameters that recognize the environmental services provided by states like ours. It's under stress. Our debt has risen to Rs.95,000 crore. This is partly because the Rs.1,600 crore in additional borrowing we previously received was stopped after we reinstated the Old Pension Scheme. Our revenue deficit grant, which was Rs.11,000 crore in 2016-17, has dropped to Rs.3,000 crore. Much of our borrowing goes into debt servicing. I've requested the Union finance minister to allow a 2% hike in borrowing under the GST framework. That said, the good news is that our economy is recovering, thanks to sound policies over the past two and a half years. Our goal is to make Himachal self-reliant by 2027-and we're making steady progress. We had proposed auctioning, leasing, or selling the disputed orchards, but the high court didn't accept that. We now plan to challenge the order in the Supreme Court. An inquiry is underway. The NHAI is using heavy machinery for rapid road construction, including hill-cutting. Himachal has decades of experience in road building without causing damage to nearby homes. Our focus has been on "vivastha parivartan" (systemic reform). We've repealed or amended redundant laws to make governance more transparent and people-centric. There are no allegations of corruption against my ministers. We've prioritised strengthening the rural economy, especially through livestock rearing. Himachal is the first state to introduce a minimum support price for milk. We've increased MGNREGA wages by Rs.80. English-medium instruction has started at the primary level. We closed 600 underutilized schools opened by the previous government and rationalized them under the Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding scheme. Soon, 200 of these schools will be affiliated with CBSE. In the next phase, our focus will remain on quality public health, education, rural economy, tourism, hydropower, and data storage infrastructure....