The issue of delay in the execution of Bulk Drug Park and Medical Device Park rocked the Himachal Pradesh Assembly during the Question Hour on Wednesday, leading to a walkout by the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The trouble started when chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the government would neither sell nor compromise with the interests of the state and execute the projects on its terms.

Former industries minister Bikram Singh Thakur and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur accused the government of inordinate delay in setting up of the Bulk Drug Park

“The government will neither play with the interests of Himachal in any way, nor will the interests of the state be sold,” said Sukhu intervening in the debate. Meanwhile, opposition members demanded the chief minister for clarity on the issue. They raised doubts over the intention of the government, while the House witnessed uproarious scenes

Meanwhile, the opposition members started making noise in the House and then they walked out of the House raising slogans. Earlier, Sukhu, while intervening in reply to the original question of MLA Bikram Singh Thakur and the supplementary question of the Leader of Opposition, said the government will construct the proposed Medical Device Park and Bulk Drug Park in the state on its terms and whatever work will be done, it will be done keeping in mind the interests of Himachal.

He said the previous government had allocated 1,400 acres of land in Haroli on lease for ₹1 for the Bulk Drug Park. Similarly, 400 acres of land have been given on lease for ₹1 for the Medical Device Park. He said that the previous government had prepared an agreement to provide free water and electricity at the rate of ₹3 per unit, while the government itself is buying electricity at ₹7 per unit.

He said that the Centre had said that it would give ₹1,000 crore for the Bulk Drug Park, but when the DPR was made, it was revealed that ₹923 crore had to be given to the Himachal government.

The chief minister said that “like the previous government, he will not allow the interests of Himachal to be sold at all”. He said that he has met NITI Aayog and other officers concerned in this regard. He said that Himachal is taking this project forward as per its conditions. He said that the Himachal government has already spent ₹100 crore on the Medical Device Park and has received only ₹30 crore from the Centre.

Earlier, in response to the original question, industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said the state government is working on these projects in a phased manner. He said that the previous government had laid its foundation stone while visiting but had not completed the formalities. Now the state government is completing the formalities. He said documents for environmental clearance for the Bulk Drug Park have been submitted and a public hearing will be held in March. He said the treatment plant to be built in this park will be of international standard. He said that the project of Bulk Drug Park is worth ₹1,923 crore and the Centre has released ₹225 crore for it.

He said three options have been suggested for the Bulk Drug Park and the government has to decide on which of these to proceed with and it will be discussed in the cabinet soon.

He said that the work of these parks has been done with transparency and the work is being done based on the guidelines of the Government of India.

Bikram Thakur said that the state government should tell by when this park will be ready and when the process of selecting capable partners will be completed.

Jai Ram said that during the Covid period, three projects of Bulk Drug Park were given to the entire country and Himachal achieved it through competition.

Assembly witnesses uproar over jobs

The Assembly on Wednesday witnessed uproarious scenes after the Jai Ram Thakur raised the issue of one lakh jobs annually that the Congress promised in its election manifesto.

Thakur raised a point of order to draw attention to page 38 of the Congress manifesto, highlighting a commitment to provide one lakh government jobs at the first cabinet meeting and to fill vacant positions. Tensions escalated as Thakur demanded an apology from Sukhu for allegedly misrepresenting the manifesto’s contents during a previous session.

Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania intervened to calm the heated exchange between the ruling and opposition members. As Pathania read out the content of the manifesto confirming the promise of one lakh government jobs, opposition members continued to accuse the chief minister of deceiving the House.

Sukhu clarified that the manifesto and the 10 poll guarantees were two different documents. He reiterated the Congress’s commitment to creating five lakh job opportunities, including one lakh government jobs over five years. He assured the House that 30,000 jobs have been created this year.