Shimla, July 11 -- Amid ongoing devastation caused by heavy rainfall and flash floods in Himachal Pradesh, the state's revenue, horticulture and tribal development minister Jagat Singh Negi on Thursday said that they will table a bill to check the unplanned construction in the state in the upcoming monsoon assembly session. This statement comes at a time when the Himachal Pradesh had already seen devastation with the onset of monsoon causing estimated loss of more than Rs.700 crore with 85 deaths and 35 people missing. According to the state emergency operations centre, a total of 192 transformers and 740 water supply schemes have been disrupted in the state so far. Mandi district that became the epicentre of destruction witnessed 10 cloudbursts, along with flash floods and landslides, resulting in death of 15 people and 27 still missing. Calling for a strict legislation, he said,"We often say houses shouldn't be within 100 metres of rivers, but people forget quickly. There's a need for strict laws, and we will bring a proposal in the upcoming assembly session. If passed unanimously, it will pave the way for enforcement. With consensus in the upcoming monsoon assembly session, the state would comeup with a law to regulate unscientific construction," said Negi admitting that uncheckedconstruction near riversand streams was a serious problem. Negi also lashed out at the Union government for discrimination in assistance and post-disaster aid. "In 2023, damage worth Rs.10,000 crore was assessed in Himachal, but we received only Rs.2,006 crore under the Post Disaster Needs Assessment. Even then, 25% of the amount must be contributed by the state government." Citing massive infrastructure damage and safety concerns, the state government has decided to shift the flood-affected College of Horticulture and Forestry from Thunag in Mandi district to Sundernagar, said Negi. This comes a day after a delegation of college students met him and urged the government to consider relocation or merger of the college with safer campuses....