Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan and Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani have hit back at Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, stating that he should stop misleading the people of Himachal Pradesh with false claims.
Refuting Nadda’s allegations regarding the Medical Device Park, the ministers clarified that the state government has not scrapped the Rs. 350 crore project, instead it has decided to implement the project independently.
Chauhan and Dharmani said that the union government had attached several conditions to its proposed Rs. 100 crore funding, which would have ultimately harmed the state’s resources. Therefore, in the interest of the people, the state government decided to return the central funds and move forward on its own.
According to the ministers, had the state accepted the central funding, it would have been compelled to provide land to industrialists at a token rate of Rs. 1 per square meter. This would have meant handing over 300 acres of prime land, worth approximately Rs. 500 crore for just Rs. 12 lakh. How is it in the interest of the state to give away land worth Rs. 500 crore for Rs. 12 lakh? Nadda Ji must clarify this to the people of Himachal, the ministers said.
Furthermore, the project’s terms required the state to provide electricity to industrialists at Rs. 3 per unit, despite purchasing it from the market at Rs. 7 per unit. The conditions also mandated the provision of free water, maintenance and warehousing for 10 years, all of which would cost the state crores of rupees.
They added that the state would not have earned any GST revenue from the project, as GST is collected in the state where the products are sold, not manufactured. Additionally, the central terms allowed for a 70 percent rebate on state GST for 10 years, leading to significant revenue loss for Himachal Pradesh.
In light of these conditions, the ministers said, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu made the decision to return Rs. 25 crore already received from the Centre and move ahead with own resources, prioritizing the state’s long-term interests over short-term gains.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
