CM reviews ₹2,687-cr HP-READY project with World Bank, but focus still on post-disaster response.
Shimla, Oct 9: Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday reviewed the ₹2,687 crore Himachal Pradesh Resilient Action for Development and Disaster Recovery (HP-READY) project with a World Bank team. The project is scheduled to roll out in January 2026.
It is being presented as a major step toward rebuilding Himachal’s disaster-hit infrastructure and preparing the state for future calamities.
But experts say the state’s approach still revolves around relief after disaster rather than prevention before damage.
CM Sukhu admitted that climate change has taken a heavy toll on Himachal, forcing the government to repeatedly divert resources for restoring broken roads, bridges, and public utilities.
However, disaster watchers argue that the real problem runs far deeper than climate change.
Most of the recent tragedies — including the Berthi landslide in Bilaspur that killed 16 people — have occurred along national highways, four-lane projects, and link roads.
These are the direct results of reckless hill cutting, unscientific dumping of debris into nallahs and slopes, and rampant illegal mining that causes flash floods during heavy rains.
Experts point out that road engineering in Himachal remains in the hands of contractors, not trained engineers and geologists who can guide safe construction.
As a result, roads are collapsing, hills are sliding, and fragile slopes are being cut open without scientific checks.
“The biggest sufferers are local people and farmers,” say locals.
“Their produce often rots in farms and orchards or piles up on the roadsides when landslides block roads — as has happened time and again over the last three years.”
Critics add that climate change has become an easy scapegoat to deflect attention from corruption and negligence within culprit departments — PWD, NHAI, BRO, Mining, and Forest — that routinely ignore illegal dumping, deforestation, and mining violations.
Tourists getting stranded on broken highways has become the new normal in Himachal.
Endless traffic jams, sinking roads, and frequent landslides triggered by reckless hill cutting have turned travel into a nightmare.
What’s worse, each spell of heavy rain or snow now cripples the state’s fragile connectivity, exposing how unplanned four-laning and unchecked crowds have made the mountains more vulnerable than ever.
The fallout hits where it hurts most — the local economy. Hotels, cafés, and small eateries that thrive on tourist footfall face empty rooms and shuttered kitchens for weeks as it has been happening in Himachal for the last three years.
Traders lose business, perishables rot, and daily wagers are left high and dry.
The tourism backbone that once powered Himachal’s prosperity now bends under the weight of its own uncontrolled growth and hit hard by disasters.
Under HP-READY, the government plans to restore disaster-damaged infrastructure, improve early warning systems, and promote “Green Panchayats.”
Controlled Atmosphere (CA) stores at ten locations will be set up to help farmers preserve their produce during harsh weather.
Yet, without proper risk mapping, land-use control, and scientific road planning, experts warn that HP-READY risks turning into another post-disaster recovery plan instead of a genuine effort to prevent future catastrophes.
Will the HP- READY address all issues and replicate them on the ground?
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