Shimla

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has demanded the Union government to declare the disaster in Himachal as a national disaster.

CM Sukhu said that he had put forth this demand with the Prime Minister during the G20 dinner.

He also demanded a special package for the state. "The state government is continuously demanding the central government that the disaster here should be declared a national disaster. Also, the Central Government should give a special relief package to

Himachal, but till now both demands have been ignored," CM Sukhu said.

The Chief Minister said that he will give appropriate answers to every question of the opposition in the monsoon session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly.

CM Sukhu expressed his gratitude to Priyanka Gandhi for her visit to the state. He said that Priyanka Gandhi took time out from her busy schedule to come to Himachal and meet the disaster-affected people.

He said that there has been huge devastation in the state due to heavy rain and flood. He said that the government is making changes in the manual to provide relief to the disaster affected.

Recently, the state government has asked to pay the house rent to the people who lost their houses. In this, every month Rs 5,000 in rural areas and Rs 10,000 in urban areas will be provided by the government till 31 March 2024, he said.

He said that many people lost their land in the disaster. Now such people have land in the revenue records, but the place at ground zero is not suitable for living. The government will also make changes in such rules and will work to provide relief to the disaster-affected, he added.

The Chief Minister said that he has instructed all the District Deputy Commissioners to ensure that relief is provided to the disaster-affected people and no one is left wanting.

He said that recently the matter of reducing import duty on Washington Apple has come to light. This will have a negative impact on all the gardeners of Himachal Pradesh, he said.

He said that the state government would also provide land and change the rules to provide disaster manual help to the affected people.

"The farmers who have lost cattle herds and crops will also be helped and all deputy Commissioners have also been directed to announce the disaster affected areas," he added.