Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 19 : Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Monday raised concerns over the underperformance of certain departments despite significant funding received by the state.
"I am concerned that we are getting so much money in the state, despite that, the performance of our department has its shortcomings in many places," Singh said while addressing the media in Shimla.
Highlighting key issues, he pointed to delays in obtaining land and Forest Conservation Act (FCA) clearances as major obstacles in project execution.
"Land is not available in many places; the FCA has not worked on time due to the clearance of the case," he noted.
The minister also cited inefficiency among contractors and department officials as reasons for poor performance. "I saw that the performance is not up to the mark because of inefficient contractors, or our department officials and engineers," he said, referring to his recent state-wide review meetings.
To improve accountability, Singh said he has instructed officials to introduce a performance indicator system. "I have ordered that performance indicators be made: red, green and yellow," he stated.
Issuing a warning, he added, "I have clearly told them that where performance is not good, action will be taken against them. Contractors will be blacklisted."
Meanwhile, the Public Works Department (PWD) Minister of the Himachal Pradesh government, Vikramaditya Singh, said that the department was all set to start the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) stage four once it was approved by the Union government.
After meeting the Union ministers during his recent visit to Delhi, he addressed a press conference in Shimla.
Singh detailed Himachal Pradesh's progress under the PMGSY, highlighting key milestones achieved in road infrastructure in rural and remote areas of the state.
"Our government made sustained efforts to strengthen the road network across Himachal, especially in remote and backward regions where all-weather connectivity was crucial," Singh said.
He reported that under PMGSY-III, 3,100 kilometres of roads and 43 bridges had already been sanctioned, with projects spread across Mandi, Kangra, and Hamirpur districts.
"We executed PMGSY-III projects worth Rs 345 crore. Our goal was to complete these within 18 months. Already Rs 802 crore had been spent, and by the end of 2024-25, Rs 650 crore more was expected to be utilised out of the Rs 905 crore budget," he said.
Singh further shared that meetings with the Minister of State for Rural Development had yielded positive responses.