Making Himachal self-reliant: State to focus on green, sustainable energy, says CM Sukhu

Emphasising upon the importance of religious tourism, Sukhu said, “The New Year comes with renewed resolve to work faster

Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said that to make Himachal a self-reliant state, the focus would be on green and sustainable energy-- to protect the natural beauty of the state-- as well as promoting religious tourism.

Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu with his wife on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Emphasising upon the importance of religious tourism, Sukhu said, “The New Year comes with renewed resolve to work faster. The religious tourism serves as a vital bridge between heritage and modern development, where millions of devotees visit annually to seek spiritual fulfilment in state’s Shaktipeeth’s, while boosting local livelihood. The beautification of the lesser known religious shrines and development of new religious circuits would be the government’s focus.”

“State faced three challenges during the past three years, the worst being the natural disaster followed by economic and political upheaval but the government, with the blessings of divine power, and cooperation of the people overcame these challenges,” said Sukhu, who along with his wife and Dehra MLA Kamlesh Thakur visited the Tara Devi Temple near Shoghi to pay obeisance on the New Year’s occasion.

Speaking about the state’s financial condition, he said “When we came to power, the state was under a debt of ₹76,000 crore, and a liability of ₹10,000 crore due to the Sixth Pay Commission. We faced all these challenges. During the BJP government’s tenure, the revenue deficit grant was around ₹11,000 crore, but we received only ₹3,200 crore. Despite this, we managed to carry out all works.”

“Certainly, to repay old debt we are taking fresh loans, and we are trapped in a debt cycle. To come out of this, we are moving ahead with fiscal discipline and financial prudence,” said the CM while expressing satisfaction that the state economy had begun moving towards self-reliance.

Talking of challenges, CM said that the “chitta” menace posed a serious concern, especially due to its impact from the Punjab border. “We started working on three levels– awareness, strict action against suppliers of chitta and rehabilitation as well as reintegration into the mainstream”.

On losses due to natural disasters over the last two to three years, Sukhu said 2025 had been particularly challenging and stressed the need for scientific studies. “Climate change has definitely begun affecting Himachal. Temperature is increased, number of cloudbursts are more. The impact seen in 2023–24 continued into 2025–26, and we are trying to recover from the losses caused by these disasters,” he said.