Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday assured Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda that the Centre would do everything for recovery and reconstruction activities in the aftermath of flood, landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh.
BJP national President Nadda along with Rajya Sabha member Harsh Mahajan met Union Minister Gadkari here and apprised him about the damage to roads, especially in Mandi district, owing to torrential rain that triggered flash floods.
A statement quoting Union Minister Nadda said the Central government "will not leave any stone unturned for Himachal Pradesh. Every road in the areas damaged by the tragedy will be repaired on a war footing". He said the way Union Minister Gadkari has laid out the plan for the construction of roads, tunnels and bridges in Himachal Pradesh.
"The slow pace of development in the rural areas of Himachal Pradesh will now be accelerated," said Union Minister Nadda, who belongs to Himachal Pradesh and visited flashflood-ravaged villages in Seraj and Thunag areas in Mandi district on July 10.
Union Minister Nadda said the Centre has sanctioned a budget of Rs 201 crore in the first phase to the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). "Now with this amount, the construction of drains, paths, roads and other small and big works under MNREGA at the panchayat level will be accelerated."
He said Himachal Pradesh is continuously receiving funds from the Centre for the NDRF and SDRF. Himachal Pradesh has received an assistance of more than Rs 5,000 crore. Union Minister Nadda said that "if we talk about relief, the government of India is always ready for this work, in terms of financial help.
The government of India stood with Himachal Pradesh earlier and will stand with it in future as well". Recalling the natural calamity of 2023, the BJP President said, at that time, there was a tragedy in Mandi and Kullu district, and "I visited Himachal Pradesh thrice.
I remember that at that time, the Centre had provided a relief of Rs 3,146 crore to Himachal Pradesh. Even now, for the rehabilitation, the Central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released Rs 2,006 crore for Himachal under National Disaster Response Fund."
"And, if we add this, the total aid for reconstruction activities post-2023 landslides, flood is Rs 5,152 crore," Union Minister Nadda said. Talking from the economic point of view, the Central government has given more than 1 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, more than 3000 crores of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to the state.
"And being a representative of the Central government, I am saying it with responsibility that the government of India is standing with Himachal and will continue to do so in the future too," he added.