A second House in Dharamshala

Pratibha Chauhan in Shimla

In a state compressed by topographical limits and chafed by political sclerosis, what can the ruling bosses do for reaping a rich political harvest? Invent ways to create two Assemblies; one for the winter, the other for the summer. Himachal Pradesh is the newest case (a comparison with neighbouring J&K would be odious, though). The government has chosen to have two Houses, one is in super-inflated Shimla and the other in Dharamshala, a good 260km from the summer capital. And the cash-strapped government (a debt of Rs 42,000 crore) doesn’t mind the cost, so what if only 52 sittings of the Assembly have been held in Dharamshala in the last 11 years. The result, if anything,  is  that the assembly complex came up in December 2008 at a cost of Rs 11.87 crore. Plus, the government pays for maintaining the complex round-the-year, session or no session. 

Says speaker B.B.L. Butail: “The entire Dharamshala Assembly complex remains unutilized. It would be worthwhile if the building is put to some good use when the session is not on.” But Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has his own version: “No cost is too high for fostering emotional integration of various parts of the state.” 

Dharamshala is the political epicenter of lower Himachal. A separate assembly would have hinted at decentralizing power and bridging the regional divide. In 2005, the Congress regime headed by Virbhadra Singh decided to hold the session in Dharamshala, for the first time outside Shimla. Accused of meting out step-motherly treatment to Kangra, Virbhadra thought it would be a wise political move. The Vidhan Sabha complex at Tapovan on the outskirts of Dharamshala offers a full view of the majestic snow-capped Dhauladhar range. 

Fearing political repercussions of reversing the move, the BJP has not thought of doing away with the tradition. Even as top brass of both the Congress and the BJP admit in private that the whole exercise of the entire government paraphernalia moving to Dharamshala barely for five days is actually a very futile exercise, nobody is willing to admit it on record.

As such it would not be wrong to infer that the unofficial status of a winter capital accorded to Dharamshala has not paid off the desired political dividends to either the Congress or BJP. Himachal is primarily divided into Upper and Lower Himachal with Kangra, Hamirpur and Chamba constituting the lower part. The main objective was that since it was inconvenient for people of these areas to travel all the way to Shimla, it would be ideal for the government to move to Dharamshala in the winters. 

It was way back in 1994 that Virbhadra Singh as CM introduced a winter sojourn when he along with the entire ministry and government machinery would spend a fortnight travelling in various parts of Kangra, Chamba and Hamirpur to hear the people out and see for himself the progress of development works. In 2004, he went in for a full-fledged Vidhan Sabha. 

There is no denying that Kangra remains politically the most significant district of the state having 15 assembly segments, which constitutes close to one fourth of the total strength of the Assembly. Electoral history of Kangra bordering Punjab has it that the people of the district alternate between Congress and BJP in every assembly polls, irrespective of development works or representation in the ministry or the government at large. 

An expenditure of over Rs 1 crore is made every year to bear the Dharamshala expenditure. The entire government machinery — the Speaker’s Office, Chief Minister’s office, ministers, MLA’s, chief secretary, all senior secretary level bureaucrats and the state media — move to Dharamshala. The cost, including stay of everyone in Circuit House, Government rest houses and in plush hotels is borne by the General Administration (GAD) and works out to nearly Rs 1 crore each year. About 10 permanent staff of the Vidhan Sabha are posted in Dharamshala round the year for maintenance of the complex.

There has been talk of converting the complex into a National Training Centre for e-Vidhan for assemblies of the other states, but there has not been much headway. Himachal is the first state in the country to have e-Vidhan Sabha. It means the proceedings are computerized along with filing of questions by MLAs, their replies and also the tabling of bills.