Congress Government Selling Himachal Instead of Connecting Tourism to Local Livelihoods: Sudhir Sharma

Shimla: BJP senior leader and MLA Sudhir Sharma, in a statement to the press, criticized the Congress government for failing to link tourism with local livelihoods in Himachal Pradesh. Instead, he accused the government of setting up markets to sell off Himachal. Sharma pointed out that this trend began with a market in Dubai and plans to privatize valuable land in Palampur, which faced backlash and was temporarily halted. Now, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has organized another market from a large hotel in Chandigarh with the tourism department chairman and officials.

Sharma highlighted that the government plans to build large hotels in the state by taking loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He alleged that these hotels are being prepared to be handed over to the government’s favorites at minimal prices for long terms, despite no loan agreement being signed with ADB yet.

The BJP leader accused the government of selling everything at throwaway prices to its cronies, questioning why unemployed Himachali youths are not deemed worthy of such generous schemes. He suggested that the government should develop small tourism units and lease them to the state’s unemployed for long durations. Sharma also pointed out that the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) is running at a loss of approximately INR 140 crore, yet the government is planning to build new hotels with state funds. Meanwhile, they plan to construct large hotels with ADB loans and hand them over to private favorites, hinting at a significant scam.

He further criticized the government’s plan to convert the building housing six departments, including ADB, into a club. Sharma claimed that the government is planning to shift these offices to private buildings owned by the government’s close associates, aiming to pay over INR 20 lakh per month in rent from the state treasury. Sharma warned that the BJP, along with the state’s unemployed youth, would not only oppose these attempts to sell Himachal but also launch a significant movement against it.