Government mulls settlement policy for disaster-affected families: CM
3 min read
SHIMLA 10th July, 2025
• Announces rupees seven crore relief for disaster affected areas to carry out restoration works
On the second day of his visit to the disaster-affected areas of Seraj Assembly Constituency Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited Thunag, Bagsiad, Deji, Bara and Syanj villages and reviewed the damage caused by recent cloudbursts and assured the victims of all possible support from the State Government.
He announced an immediate relief amount of seven crore rupee for the disaster affected areas and two crore rupees had already been released earlier and an additional two crore rupee each would be given to the Public Works Department and the Jal Shakti Department, while one crore rupee would be provided to the Block Development Office to expedite restoration work.
In Deji village, 11 people were still missing due to a cloudburst, while two deaths have been reported from Bara and four deaths in Syanj village, with five missing. The Chief Minister prayed for peace of the departed souls and expressed his condolences with the bereaved families.
He also interacted with the people at Pakhrar Panchayat Ghar and listened to their woes and directed the revenue officers to immediately assess all kinds of losses. He instructed that residential complexes that were still filled with silt or rocks or those deemed unsafe for living should be declared completely damaged so that maximum compensation could be provided to the people. He also assured that the government would compensate for damaged household goods and livestock as well.
Sh. Sukhu gave special instructions to assess losses suffered by horticulturists and apple growers. The State Cabinet will soon discuss and announce a special relief package for all those who have been affected due to this disaster. He said that this disaster was massive and rehabilitation would take time and government would fully support the people.
While in Bara, the Chief Minister said that the government was considering bringing a one-time settlement policy for resettling disaster-affected families. Since 68 percent of land in Himachal Pradesh was forest land so the permission from the Central Government would be sought for rehabilitating the people on forest land.
To ensure that the studies of students continue uninterruptedly, the Chief Minister said that temporary classes for the Forestry and Horticulture College in Thunag would be held in Sundernagar in Mandi district.
He said that major roads have been reopened and efforts to restore village link roads were ongoing at a war footing.
At Thunag Rest House, NCC cadets helping in relief work met the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister appreciated the NCC cadets dedication and service towards the suffering humanity. The school girls informed him about the damage to their school, to which the Chief Minister responded by promising to open a CBSE affiliated school in Thunag.
The Chief Minister also interacted with SDRF personnel and commended their commitment.
Brigadier Yajuvendra Singh of the Indian Army briefed him about the relief operations and said that 26 army personnel were currently deployed in the region.
The Chief Minister thanked all personnel from the Indian Army, NDRF, SDRF, Police, Home Guards and volunteers from various organizations for their selfless service during this crisis.
APMC Chairman Sanjeev Guleria, Congress leaders Chet Ram, Jagdish Reddy, Vijay Pal Singh, Jeevan Thakur, Naresh Chauhan, Lal Singh Kaushal, Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan, SP Sakshi Verma and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
