Congress, BJP spar over pending DA, arrears
Shimla, Aug. 22 -- Uproar, commotion marked the fourth day of the monsoon session of the Himachal Pradesh assembly on Thursday as Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party exchanged barbs over the issue of pending Dearness Allowance (DA) and arrears for state government employees.
Congress blamed the delay and pendency of DA on poor fiscal health of the state owing to restriction imposed by Union government on state for implementing Old Pension Scheme (OPS), while MLA's of the saffron party moved out of the House as protest against what they termed as "political replies" of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The ruckus began during the question hour when BJP MLA from Una, Satpal Satti, raised the matter of pending DA and arrears. Dissatisfied with the government's reply, the BJP MLAs moved out of the House raising slogans.
Responding to the question, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhu said, "State's financial health is not good but we hope improvement. We will release the pending instalments of dearness allowance (DA) once the financial condition of the state improves. We have paid 11% DA last year and have also made provision in the budget, which will be paid to the employees."
Sukhu said, "We sanctioned OPS as a result of which the Centre blocked additional borrowing of Rs.1,600 crore for the state, adversely impacting its fiscal health. When I raised the issue with the Centre we were pressurised to switch to UPS."
"Despite economic constraints, our government has taken major decisions in favour of employees. All dues will be cleared once the financial position improves," he added.
BJP MLA from Sullah, Vipin Singh Parmar, accused the CM of misleading, by saying that during the budget session you had assured to release the pending DA by May but the same had not been paid.
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur remind the state government that they came to power with the support of the employees and thus they are accountable towards them. Jai Ram said, "You (CM) keep harping and blaming the former government."
Later talking to the media outside the assembly, Jai Ram said, "Chief minister was repeatedly giving political answers in the House rather than addressing the core issue. The Congress government came to power because of the support of employees, and the promises made to them must be fulfilled. In his Budget speech, the CM announced that the pending 3% DA instalment would be released by May, but now August is ending and employees still have not received their dues. A total of 11% DA is pending."
Jai Ram reminded that when the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government left office, there was also a burden of arrears, but the then BJP government cleared them.
Urging the government to stop using financial constraints as an excuse, the LoP said it should honour its commitments and implement its promises without delay. Meanwhile, the CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu , said, "Those who are talking about employees today are the same people who once ordered water cannons and lathi charges against them. They never implemented the OPS when in power and are now pretending to be well-wishers of employees."
Congress MLA Raghubir Singh (RS) Bali on Thursday, during zero hour, raised the issue of "wrong and inflated" power bill presented in assembly during the ongoing monsoon session, and demanded probe into it.
BJP MLA from Dharamshala, Sudhir Sharma, on Wednesday had sought the details of 14 months of electricity bills for residences of 10 Congress leaders, occupying government houses, including the CM and deputy CM.
"The matter was significant because the figures presented in response to a question were part of the assembly's official record a final document of the state and were later published in newspapers and circulated on social media," Bali said.
The bill for Bali's official residence, was shown as Rs.6,78,000. Bali had moved into the residence in July 2023. After analysing and "doing a DNA of the bill," Bali found it to be inflated.
Later talking to the media, Bali said, "When I asked for the full details from January 2023 to July 2025, my actual bill for 32 months came to Rs.2,98,308 - far lower than the Rs.6.78 lakh as stated in the assembly. This discrepancy exists not just in my bill, but in others too," he said.
Terming the matter a question of dignity for his constituency of Nagrota Bagwan, Bali said, "If this was done deliberately, it is a very serious issue. Figures that go to the assembly must be thoroughly checked at the highest level."
Bali announced that henceforth, he would personally pay the electricity bills for his official residence.
Bali insisted that the variation in bills for 10 residences must be investigated.
Responding to the issue of inflated power bills, CM Sukhu said that some MLAs had been handed bills for a period of 14 months, which included arrears. Sukhu told the house that the bills of ministers are issued by the electricity department but payments are made through the PWD. "In this case, PWD mistakenly added arrears to the actual bill, which inflated the figure from Rs.1.68 lakh to Rs.6.78 lakh. Even in my case, a wrong bill of Rs.3.76 lakh for 14 months was shown, whereas the actual payable amount was Rs.1.47 lakh," the CM said.
Sukhu assured the house, "The matter will be investigated, if any deliberate mischief was done in presenting wrong figures, responsibility would be fixed".
Taking cognisance of the matter, speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania directed that the issue be cross-examined, terming it a "serious lapse" that should not be repeated.
CM Sukhu said that the state government will consider increasing the rent of the rest houses in Himachal. This assurance came in response to the concern raised by MLA from Kasauli, Vinod Sultanpuri, about the very low tariffs of government rest houses in tourist destinations.
Sultanpuri pointed out that rest houses across Himachal, many located at premium spots and are being rented out to the public at rates as low as Rs.500 a night. "In Kasauli, even small homestays charge Rs.2,500 per night. Tourists from Haryana and Punjab prefer staying in government rest houses because of low tariffs and they even carry mobile kitchens, adversely affecting the homestays." He also raised the issue of the poor condition of the rest house in his area Kasauli and demanded its improvement. CM assured that the concerns will be sympathetically considered.
Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri told the House that registration of cooperative committees in the state will now be done through SDM. He gave this assurance to Congress MLA from Indora, Malender Rajan, who had raised the issue of registration of two or three committees in each panchayat.
CM Sukhu assured the house that the issue of NOC from the fire department will be sympathetically considered regarding the home stays running in old houses in Manali area. He was responding to the issue raised by MLA Bhuvaneshwar Gaur. The CM said that keeping in mind the tourism sector, the government will also consider relaxation in the conditions of the fire department for old houses.
Rural Development and panchayati raj minister Anirudh Singh, in response to MLA Balbir Verma's question, said that he should send a new proposal to the CM for the development schemes of his area. Verma alleged that the state government had withdrawn money from the his constituency and had sought details as to when the money will be returned.
The assembly on Thursday, through voice note, passed a resolution demanding Bharat Ratna to Himachal's first CM Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar.
Assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said, "The resolution passed in the Himachal assembly will be sent to the Government of India. In this, Bharat Ratna will be demanded from the Centre in view of Dr Parmar's contribution to the country before independence and for the formation of Himachal after independence."
On the Private Member's Day, Congress MLA from Nahan, Ajay Solanki, listed Dr Parmar's contribution to the country and the state in the House.
Supporting the resolution, industries and parliamentary affairs minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said, "Parmar was a man who could leave his office and travel back in a public bus, dressed simply, living only on his salary."
Revenue and Horticulture, Jagat Singh Negi said that it was because of Parmar's vision that Himachal is known today for its roads, horticulture, agriculture and education. "When we talk about development, we must remember his time as CM, when he would walk for hours to reach far-flung tribal areas without expecting anything in return, only to connect with the people."
Deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri said, "In one voice this resolution should be sent so that he gets the highest civilian award." Education minister Rohit Thakur said, "From institutions like the high court to HPU, many pillars of our present-day state were built during his era." Former minister and MLA Sukhram Chaudhary said history is shaped not by events but by the work of great leaders like Parmar....
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.