Shimla, March 20 Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday that 1,098 government buildings in the state remain unoccupied as they have not been put to any use.
He said this while responding to a question raised by BJP MLA Satpal Singh Satti in the state Assembly during the Question Hour.
Sukhu said that although Himachal Pradesh is grappling with a severe financial crisis, the state government nonetheless spent crores of rupees in the public sector to construct hundreds of buildings that serve no purpose whatsoever. Consequently, all these structures currently lie vacant, he said.
The chief minister has been accusing the previous BJP government led by Jai Ram Thakur of indulging in wasteful expenditure at the fag end of its tenure and had earlier said that 1,000 buildings were constructed by the previous dispensation to give benefits to its people but are now lying vacant.
These buildings belong to various government departments, corporations and boards, as well as health and educational institutions. Over the past years, crores of rupees have been spent on the construction of these structures, he said.
The chief minister informed the House that the number of such buildings could potentially rise as the government is still awaiting further information regarding the matter.
Satti suggested that these buildings should be identified and their utilisation ensured, thereby serving a constructive purpose while simultaneously generating additional revenue for the government.
He further asserted that the officials responsible for authorising the construction of such buildings must be identified and their accountability established to prevent similar instances of wasteful expenditure in the future.
The BJP legislator urged the government to issue comprehensive guidelines regarding future building construction projects to ensure that public resources are not misused.
In response to another question raised by BJP MLA J R Katwal, the chief minister said that hydroelectric power generation is contingent upon various factors, including water availability, disruptions caused by natural disasters and issues related to silt accumulation, among others.
Consequently, it is not possible to set a specific energy production target for any given financial year nor does any such provision currently exist. Similarly, solar energy generation is dependent upon the availability of sunlight, he said.
Sukhu informed the House that during the period spanning the financial years 2023-24 through 2025-26, the state generated 1,19,237.57 million units of energy.
Hydroelectric power contributed the largest share to this total output. The chief minister said that the state possesses a hydroelectric power generation potential of 22,950 megawatts. Of this, 13,000 megawatts of electricity is currently being generated.
He said that 188 hydroelectric projects are operational within the state, while 24 are under construction. Five hydroelectric projects are awaiting approval, whereas six projects are entangled in legal disputes. Furthermore, six projects have been deemed unfeasible, he added.
Sukhu said that 188 megawatts of solar energy were generated in the state during the year 2024-25, while the generation of an additional 209 megawatts of solar energy is set to commence by March 31.
BJP MLAs Sukhram Chaudhary and Hansraj raised supplementary questions regarding this matter.