Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said that his government is not afraid of political challenges.

“We will face every challenge with determination and realise the vision of self-reliant Himachal by the year 2032,” he said, accusing the BJP of adopting unfair and undemocratic means to weaken the democratic processes of the state.

While the state government’s focus was entirely on taking Himachal forward on the path of sustainable growth, some well-known elements were using hard-earned money of taxpayers and evil forces to topple democratically elected governments, he charged.

He said that by adopting a zero-tolerance policy on corruption, the government has succeeded in curbing corrupt practices. Besides, the resources of the state were being used for the welfare of its citizens and the overall development of the state.

“The state government has come up with various developmental schemes and policies for the welfare and bright future of the people of Himachal Pradesh,” Sukhu said while addressing a huge public gathering during his visit to the Solan Assembly Constituency on Sunday.

Announcing Rs 10 crore each for the construction of a parking facility and an indoor stadium in Solan, the Chief Minister said that the state government has set a target of making Himachal self-reliant and was working tirelessly by implementing policies which will aid in achieving the target.

He added that despite the limited economic resources, the state government faced last year’s natural disaster with full strength and provided Rs 4,500 crore as a special relief package to the affected families.

The state didn’t receive a penny in aid from the Centre, yet all possible assistance was provided to the affected families.

He further stated that the welfare and benefit of the common man were being kept in mind before launching new policies and programmes.

“The government has also simplified rules and procedures of availing government services. This has eased the process of doorstep and time-bound delivery of all the services for the benefit of the common man,” he said.

The state government has been organising Rajasva Lok Adalat on the last two working days of every month to simplify and expedite the settlement of mutation and partition cases.

“It’s satisfying to see that the people of the state are hugely benefited from these Adalats and encouraging results have emerged,” the Chief Minister said.

He added that the government has introduced Mukhyamantri Sukh Shiksha Yojana in the budget 2024-25, under which the state government will bear the educational expenses of children up to 27 years of age of all such widows in the state, whose annual income from all sources is less than Rs 1 lakh.

The Chief Minister said that the government has fulfilled five of its assembly election guarantees – reinstating OPS for all government employees, providing Rs 1,500 to women under the Rajiv Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi, launching the Rajiv Gandhi Start-up Yojana, introducing English medium education in all state-run schools, and fixing minimum support price.

The government has also started Mukhya Mantri Sukh-Aashray Yojana and was successfully implementing various other public welfare schemes for strengthening the rural economy, the Chief Minister said.