Himachal: CM Sukhu meet the Union Minister, seeks forest land for disaster affected people

August 2, 2025

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi. He apprised the Union Minister about the damage caused by the recent cloudburst and heavy rains in the state. He said that during this monsoon, there has been a huge loss of buildings, infrastructure, roads, bridges, water supply schemes, residential properties as well as precious human lives.

Land for disaster-affected people

Sukhu urged the Union Minister to allow allotment of one bigha of land for the rehabilitation of disaster-affected families who have lost their land. As 68 per cent of the state is under forest area, he stressed the need to relax forest norms for rehabilitation.

He also discussed siltation in rivers and urged to give necessary instructions for the disposal of silt for disaster prevention. He urged that separate norms should be set for hill states, keeping in view their difficult geographical conditions and special requirements. He also apprised the Union Minister about the recurrence of cloudbursts in the state.

Impact of climate change should be studied 

He said that the matter has been discussed with the Home Minister. A central team has also visited the state to study the impact of climate change. Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, MLAs Sanjay Awasthi, Suresh Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary Forest KK Pant, Principal Resident Commissioner Ajay Yadav, and senior officials of the state government and the ministry were present in the meeting.