TNR News Network
Shimla:
In a move sparking sharp political and administrative debate, the foreign visit of Himachal Pradesh Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Singh along with four MLAs and two senior officers will be funded by the Shimla Smart City Mission, a scheme whose primary funding and deadlines have already concluded.
The Urban Development Department has formally directed the Smart City management to arrange for the travel expenses, which are expected to exceed Rs 70 lakh.
The 10-day tour, covering South Korea and Japan, is part of an official exchange programme on urban development and management. However, insiders say the decision to use Smart City funds for a political delegation, without including any officer from the Smart City project team, has raised several eyebrows.
Smart City fund to bear the cost of political delegation
According to official sources, the Urban Development Department has sent a letter to the Shimla Smart City management, instructing them to immediately make financial arrangements for the delegation’s travel. Those on the tour include Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Shimla-Urban MLA Harish Janartha, Palampur MLA Ashish Butail, Gagret MLA Rakesh Kalia and Nahan MLA Ajay Solanki.
They are accompanied by Urban Development Director Neeraj Kumar and Special Secretary Saurabh Jassal.
The letter, which notes that the tour has received government approval, has prompted the Smart City office to begin internal coordination for the necessary funds reportedly to be pulled from the project’s administrative expenditure allocation.
Mission Over, projects incomplete, yet funds diverted
Ironically, the Shimla Smart City Mission officially concluded nearly two years ago and its project execution deadline also lapsed in March this year. The central government has since stopped funding new work under the scheme, limiting support only to completion of ongoing projects such as the Vidhan Sabha flyover and IGMC parking facility, both of which are currently facing financial shortages.
Repeated budget requests from Smart City officials to the state government to finish pending infrastructure work remain unmet. In this context, the sudden diversion of funds toward a foreign tour — unrelated directly to the Smart City project team — has left officials surprised and concerned.
BJP attacks government over ‘misuse’ of public funds
The opposition BJP has seized the opportunity to target the Congress government, accusing it of misusing developmental funds during a time when the state is grappling with severe financial and climatic crises.
“This is nothing short of irresponsible. Ministers and MLAs are jetting off abroad while public infrastructure projects are stalled and citizens suffer from disasters and poor governance,” a BJP spokesperson said.
The party has indicated that it will raise the issue in the upcoming Shimla Municipal Corporation session and mount further pressure in the Assembly. With growing criticism, the decision to fund international travel through an exhausted urban renewal mission may soon snowball into a major political controversy.
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