The short-duration winter session of Himachal Pradesh Assembly in Dharamshala in Kangra district robs the state exchequer of over Rs one crore every year.

The entire government machinery moves from Shimla to Dharamshala with bag and baggage for the winter session, managing stay in rest houses and hotels. It facilitates the locals in the lower areas of the state to meet politicians for four-five days in a year at one place, but at a great cost to the cash strapped government.

The budget and monsoon sessions of the Assembly are held in Shimla.

None of the successive state governments, all of whom talked high of austerity, have so far dared to ‘roll back’ this political decision of the then Congress government in 2005 to have a winter session of the HP Assembly in Dharamshala.

There have been individual murmurs in political quarters that it’s a costly move to have two Assembly in well connected small state, but there hasn’t been any official discussion on the issue so far.

In 2007, then BJP Chief Minister (CM), Prem Kumar Dhumal had mentioned in media that the decision can be reviewed with consensus, but this did not follow and proposal.

Even new BJP CM, Jai Ram Thakur, who is keen on austerity and termed it a political decision by the Congress government in the past (2005) with no positive results for the party in the polls two years later (2007), has reluctantly addressed it.

“Himachal is a small state and even the bigger states don’t have two Assembly. But, sometimes some issues are associated with the sentiments of people and it’s difficult to go back on them,” he replied to media queries.

The CM did express willingness to use the Assembly building in Dharamshala meaningfully during rest of the year, when it remains vacant as the building involves high maintenance cost.

In 2005, Congress CM Virbhadra Singh sensing the importance of Kangra district (with 15 Assembly segments) hastily decided to have a winter session of the Assembly in Dharamshala. The move was aimed at wooing the local folks, with logic that people in Kangra, Chamba and other adjoining districts would find it convenient to meet the legislators and ministers in Assembly at their doorstep.

In the first year, the Assembly session was haphazardly held in a building in the college complex in Dharamshala and by next year. Later, a majestic Assembly building came up in Tapovan.

However, the decision by Virbhadra did not lead to any political advantage, as in 2007, the Congress lost power, with Kangra folks voting against it.

During the last winter session, former Speaker of the HP Assembly, Brij Bihari Lal Butail, who did pioneer work in making HP Assembly paperless with e-Vidhan system, had talked of having a national academy for e-Vidhan in Dharamshala Assembly building.

Holding that this could put the building to use throughout the year.

Before this winter session, BJP legislator from Jwalamukhi, Ramesh Dhawala, who was Protem Speaker, too touched the issue of need of two Assembly in small state and he even said that Dharamshala building should at least be utilised meaningfully throughout the year.

“The winter session is held for few days. After that the building remains vacant. The government must put it to use,” he said.