Rs 3,900-cr Shimla renewal plan stuck for five years

Despite the Centre sanctioning a whopping Rs 3,900 crore for renewal of the popular resort town of Shimla, the Himachal Pradesh government has failed to spend the funds, alleges a petition.

According to the petition filed in the state high court here, Rs 3,900 crore had been sanctioned in 2006 for various plans under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), but the state has miserbly failed to utilise the amount.

The Himachal Pradesh high court bench here issued notices on Tuesday to the state chief secretary and the Shimla Municipal Corporation and others asking them to reply in four weeks.

The petitioner, Tarlok Chauhan, says the state government departments’ detailed project reports have been gathering dust and virtually no project has been translated into action. This he says is causing great inconvenience to the public.

The petitioner urged the court to direct the state government to place on record all the project reports submitted under the JNNRUM and status of such reports.