SHIMLA-16 September, 2025

CM mourns death of three persons in landslide in Mandi district

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has mourned the death of three persons in a landslide triggered due to heavy rains at Nihri in Mandi district last night.

The Chief Minister said that the State Government stands in solidarity with aggrieved families in this hour of grief and directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the next of kin of the deceased.

He prayed to the Almighty to grant peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved family members to bear this irreparable loss.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister took stock of the situation from the Deputy Commissioners of affected areas and directed them to take necessary and immediate actions to mitigate the impact. He emphasized the need to shift the people living in unsafe buildings to secure locations to avert any untoward incident and ensure their safety. He directed to restore the damaged roads and water supply schemes in the affected areas on priority so that people do not face any inconvenience. He said that essential commodities must also be made available in the affected areas. He also asked the administrative officers to provide timely help the people in distress and support them.

While interacting with media in H.P. Secretariat Shimla, Sh. Sukhu said that Central Ministers were visiting the affected areas of the State merely to gain political mileage, but they should also announce relief packages from their respective Ministries. He said that BJP leaders should urge the Prime Minister to release special financial package for the State at the earliest, so that affected families could be provided financial assistance in time. He said that State Government had received only Rs. 400 crore out of Rs. 1500 crore under PDNA of year 2023. Additionally, Rs. 1500 crore had also been announced by the Prime Minister for helping the affected families devastated by this year's torrential rains, but it still remains uncertain whether this amount is part of the special relief package or scheme based assistance. He said that present State Government was providing relief to the affected families from its limited resources and restoring the damaged roads, irrigation and water supply schemes on war footing to facilitate the people. He said that torrential rains had caused substantial losses during current Monsoon compared to the disaster in the year 2023. He said that about Rs. 20000 crore of damages reported over the last three years due to various disasters.

The Chief Minister said that this year's receding monsoon has caused widespread devastation across the State, leading to valuable loss of lives and vital infrastructure such as electricity, water supply, roads as well as to private properties. This is a clear indication of the adverse impacts of climate change. He said that Ministers of the State Government were actively present on the ground and monitoring the relief and rehabilitation operations, while he himself is in constant touch the district administration. He said that Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri visited disaster affected areas of Dharampur of Mandi district and has informed that more than Rs. 6 crore damages have been sustained to the HRTC buses.

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CHEQUES PRESENTED CM FOR RELIEF FUND

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2,22,893 farmers engaged in Natural farming, 38,437 hectares of land under cultivation

The State Government’s sustained push for natural farming is showing significant results on the ground. Across 3,584 panchayats in the state, more than 2,22,893 farmers are cultivating a variety of crops naturally on 38,437 hectares of land, earning a sustainable livelihood. Himachal Pradesh government is also offering the highest Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the country for natural produce.

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the government has provided training to 3.06 lakh farmers and horticulturists in natural farming practices. Furthermore, the government has set a target to integrate one lakh new farmers with this initiative by 2025-26. So far, 59,068 farmers and horticulturists from 88 development blocks have submitted registration forms with the Agriculture Department.

Encouraged by these efforts, farmers are not only producing chemical-free crops for consumers but are also receiving fair value for their produce, leading to a stronger rural economy. “Strengthening the rural economy is our priority. In the past two and a half years, we have introduced several schemes to empower farmers, increase their income, and improve their living standards. Nearly 90 percent of Himachal Pradesh’s population lives in villages, and agriculture is their primary occupation and our policies are designed to ensure money reaches the hands of people in rural areas” said the chief Minister.

Currently, the State Government is providing MSP of Rs 40 per kg for maize, Rs 60 per kg for wheat, Rs 90 per kg for raw turmeric, and Rs 60 per kg for barley (from Pangi region) grown through natural farming. To further support farmers, the government has initiated a “Natural Farming-Based Sustainable Food System”, under which Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) are being established with 50-50 percent funding support from the State Government and NABARD. Till date, seven FPCs have been created in the state.

The State Government is promoting products grown through natural farming under the ‘Him-Bhog’ brand, ensuring that consumers receive highly nutritious and chemical-free produce. In the last season, the government procured 399 metric tonnes of maize from 1,509 farmers across 10 districts, distributing Rs. 1.40 crore to them. This year, the State Government has purchased 2,123 quintals of wheat from 10 districts, providing Rs. 1.31 crore to farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Additionally, 127.2 quintals of raw turmeric cultivated naturally in six districts has also been procured, for which farmers received a payment of Rs. 11.44 lakh.

To ensure transparency in the sale of natural produce, the government has introduced an innovative self-certification system Certified Evaluation Tool for Agriculture Resource Analysis-Natural Farming (CETARA-NF), under which 1,96,892 farmers have already been certified. With these initiatives, Himachal Pradesh is emerging as a national model in natural farming, attracting agricultural scientists, researchers, farmers, and officials from across the country who are visiting the state to study and replicate its successful models.

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Education Minister directs promoted lecturers to join by 18th September to ensure uninterrupted studies

· Directs HPBOSE to provide free duplicate certificates to disaster-affected students

Education Minister Rohit Thakur today chaired a review meeting with senior officers and Deputy Directors of School Education (Higher, Elementary and Quality Wing), where he discussed and reviewed the implementation of reforms and schemes along with various issues pertaining to the state’s education sector.

We are ensuring uninterrupted studies and quality education remains the foremost priority of the present State Government, but the recent natural calamities have posed a serious challenge to this commitment. The Minister expressed deep concern over the extensive damage caused to schools by heavy rains, due to which, as of now 1,125 educational institutions have been affected and resulted in estimated losses of Rs. 59.5 crores He said that in 2023, Rs. 51.13 crore was released for disaster-related repairs in 646 schools, while in 2025 (till September) Rs. 13.22 crore has been disbursed for 77 schools, with Mandi district receiving the highest share of 16.19 crore from 2023 to Sept 2025. Stressing the urgency of the situation, he directed that restoration work must be carried out on priority so that student's academic activities were not hampered.

He directed that funds received under the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) be utilized judiciously, with priority to schools sustaining more than 75 percent damage. Reports on fund utilization must be submitted within five days, failing which unutilized amounts would be diverted to other institutions in urgent need. He also directed that the government would provide rent for temporary accommodation of damaged schools to ensure uninterrupted education, and the Education Board would issue duplicate certificates with no fee to students whose documents were destroyed in the disaster.

The Minister directed that lecturers who have not joined by 18th September would forfeit their promotions and the opportunity would be given to the next eligible candidates. He said that discipline and accountability are non-negotiable in the department. He made it clear that indiscipline and absenteeism would not be tolerated and Deputy Directors must submit proper leave applications at the Directorate level. He further directed Deputy Directors to take strict action against those found negligent in their duties, making it clear that lapses in accountability would not be ignored.

He also reviewed the pending inquiries in sensitive cases related to Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, (POCSO), NDPS Act and financial irregularities. He said that the State Government has a firm Zero Tolerance policy towards such offences. He said that investigations must be expedited, responsibility fixed at every level and exemplary action taken to send a clear message that misconduct, corruption or dereliction of duty would not be tolerated in the Education Department.

The Education Minister said that regular inspections in the field were the backbone of accountability and directed Deputy Directors to visit schools frequently, with their reports to be reviewed in every meeting. He said that they were responsible for protecting school assets, selecting safe sites for new buildings and managing staff effectively.

Rohit Thakur also reviewed the rationalization of teachers as per student enrolment. He directed that in every constituency, at least three to four schools must have the option of all academic streams with adequate staff and unnecessary deputations should be cancelled. He expressed concern over the declining enrolment in science streams and directed that facilities must be improved to encourage more students to opt for science.

Director of School Education Ashish Kohli said that discipline and proper implementation of reforms were crucial for strengthening the department. He directed Deputy Directors to monitor schools regularly and ensure effective implementation schemes.

Secretary Education Rakesh Kanwar, Secretary HPBOSE Maj. Vishal, senior officers and all Deputy Directors were present in the meeting.

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PWD Minister takes first meeting of Special Task Force Committee of NHAI and MoRTH

Directs to timely execute Highway projects of National importance

Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh chaired the first meeting of the Special Task Force Committee here today constituted to resolve priority issues related to infrastructure projects of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) in Himachal Pradesh.

During the meeting, a wide range of key agenda items concerning the timely execution of ongoing and upcoming highway projects of National importance were deliberated upon including land acquisition forest clearance, environmental concerns issues etc. Dredging of the Beas River and utility shifting, dumping sites etc were also discussed in detail. The deliberations emphasized inter-departmental coordination to overcome these challenges in a time-bound manner so as to minimize the loss during the disasters.

The Minister directed all the concerned Departments to work in close coordination with NHAI and MoRTH authorities and to expeditiously resolve the pending issues.

The Minister also highlighted that infrastructure development, particularly roads, which play pivotal role in the growth of tourism, economy and trade in the State and assured full support of the State Government in timely execution of these projects.

The Minister appreciated the efforts of NHAI/MORTH for construction of NHs and restoration of damages caused by unprecedented rainfall during the current monsoon season. He also directed the NHAI & MORTH Officers to take necessary measures to address the genuine grievances of the local people.

The meeting was attended by R.D. Nazeem, Addl. Chief Secretary (Transport, Industries, and Public Works), Ms. Rakhil Kahlon, Secretary (JSV), Engineer-in-Chief, HPPWD, Chief Engineer (NH), A.K Kushwaha, Regional Officer MoRTH, Col. Ajay Bargoti, RO, NHAI and other Officers.