Himachal CM accused of receiving favours

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has been receiving favours from a company which has been constructing a strategically important tunnel in the state, BJP leader and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal's son alleged on Saturday.

The foundation stone of the Rs.1,495-crore ($290 million) Rohtang tunnel was laid by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on June 28, 2010, in the picturesque Solang valley near Manali town.

Arun Dhumal said the company -- Strabag-Afcons, a joint venture between India's Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. and Strabag SE of Austria -- has been paying rent worth lakhs of rupees to one of the family members of the chief minister.

Talking to reporters in Shimla, he said the company was awarded the contract by the previous Congress government at the Centre. At that time Virbhadra Singh was union minister.

"... as per my information, the company has been paying lakhs of rupees towards rent to one of the members of Virbhadra Singh's family. I don't know where the rented property is located. I don't know if it's there or not," he said.

"Now the completion of the tunnel has been delayed by two years, which means that the family members would keep getting rental income."

The junior Dhumal asked the chief minister to come clear on this.

"The chief minister owes an explanation to the public on this account and any citizen of the state has the right to question him."

The chief minister has already clarified that the Dhumals have started a malicious campaign against him since the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau booked both Dhumals - BJP MP Anurag Thakur and Arun - for allegedly grabbing land near Dharamsala by forging revenue records.

The Rohtang tunnel, beneath the Rohtang Pass, is being built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), an organisation under the defence ministry, in collaboration with Strabag-Afcons.

The cabinet committee on security cleared the Rohtang tunnel project in September 2009.

On completion, the tunnel will be a boon for the cold deserts of Lahaul valley, where over 20,000 people remain cut off from the rest of the country in winters owing to the closure of the Rohtang Pass.