Shimla: The BJP Legislature Party, led by former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, on Friday submitted a memorandum to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, strongly protesting the Congress government’s alleged withholding of MLAs’ constituency development funds and discretionary grants.
In the memorandum, the BJP MLAs informed the Governor that the state government has not released the MLA Area Development Fund since October 2025, leaving legislators unable to fulfil development commitments made to people in their constituencies.
The opposition alleged that despite budgetary provisions, only half of the sanctioned amount has been released, while the remaining funds have been withheld.
The BJP Legislature Party pointed out that Himachal Pradesh suffered extensive damage due to natural disasters this year, making the timely release of MLA funds crucial for development and restoration works. However, they alleged that the government curtailed fund releases even during this critical period.
The memorandum also flagged delays in releasing MLAs’ discretionary funds, which are meant to provide immediate assistance to the poor, the sick, and disaster-affected families.
The opposition said these delays are preventing elected representatives from extending timely help, thereby impacting their credibility among the public.
Speaking to the media after submitting the memorandum, Jai Ram Thakur said that it has been a long-standing tradition in Himachal Pradesh for MLAs to submit development priorities, particularly in departments such as Public Works and Jal Shakti.
However, he alleged that over the past three years, development priorities submitted by opposition MLAs have not been taken forward—neither are Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) being prepared nor are proposals being forwarded to NABARD for approval.
“Even where DPRs have been prepared, projects are deliberately stalled instead of being processed further,” Thakur alleged, calling the situation contrary to democratic norms and the principle of equitable development.
He accused the government of systematically blocking development works in opposition-held constituencies.
Thakur further claimed that only two instalments of ₹55 lakh each from the MLA development fund have been released so far, while the remaining amount has been withheld.
In several cases, he said, payments have been stopped at the treasury level even after formal sanctions were issued.
The BJP Legislature Party urged the Governor to direct the state government to immediately release MLA Area Development Funds and discretionary grants, and to ensure that DPRs for opposition MLAs’ development priorities are prepared and forwarded to NABARD, so that balanced development across all regions of the state can be ensured.
Several BJP MLAs, including Vipin Parmar, Satpal Satti, Vikram Thakur, Randhir Sharma, D.S. Thakur, Rakesh Jamwal, Pawan Kajal, Sukhram Chaudhary, Dilip Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dr Janak Raj, Deep Raj Kapoor, Lokender Kumar, Prakash Rana, Reena Kashyap, Trilok Jamwal, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Surender Shourie, Purn Chand, Jeet Ram Katwal, Hans Raj and Balbir Verma, among others, were present on the occasion.
