The opposition BJP has accused the Congress government of delaying the construction work of the Bulk Drug Park and the Medical Device Park in Himachal Pradesh.

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday witnessed a ruckus during Question Hour on the issue of the construction of the Bulk Drug Park at Una and the Medical Device Park at Nalagarh.

Charging the government with apathy, BJP member Bikram Thakur and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that the construction of the Bulk Drug Park and the Medical Device Park was being delayed.

The opposition members sought clarification from the government and stated that there were doubts which needed to be cleared. The subsequent uproar in the House over the issue culminated in a walkout amid sloganeering by the opposition.

Earlier, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while intervening in reply to the original question of MLA Bikram Singh Thakur and the supplementary question of Jai Ram Thakur, said that the government will construct the proposed Medical Device Park and Bulk Drug Park in the state on its own terms and that the work will be done in the interests of Himachal.

“The state government is committed to safeguarding the interests of Himachal Pradesh and will not compromise on them in any manner,” Sukhu said.

He said that the previous BJP government had leased 1,400 acres of land in Haroli for the Bulk Drug Park at a nominal rate of Re 1. Similarly, 400 acres of land was leased for the Medical Device Park at the same rate, he said.

“An agreement had also been made to provide free water and electricity at the rate of Rs 3 per unit. However, the government itself is buying electricity at Rs 7 per unit these days,” he said.

The central government had said that it would give Rs 1,000 crore for the Bulk Drug Park. However, the DPR pointed out that Rs 923 crore has to be contributed by the Himachal government, he added.

Unlike the previous government, he will not allow the interests of Himachal to be sold at all, he said, adding that he has already met NITI Aayog and other concerned officers in this regard.

He said that Himachal is taking this project forward on its own terms and added that the state government despite having spent Rs 100 crore on the Medical Device Park, has only received Rs 30 crore from the Centre.

The state government intends to build both projects, he stated, citing the example of the Baddi industrial area, which took 15 years to materialise.