Himachal cabinet gives nod to second capital status for Dharamshala
CM SAYS THE NEW STATUS ACCORDED TO DHARAMSHALA WILL NOT BE AN ANALOGY OF THE ‘DURBAR’ MOVE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh government has formalised the second capital status for Dharamshala town.
The state cabinet that met here on Thursday under chief minister Virbhadra Singh put its stamp of approval on the second capital status.
The secretariat building in Dharamshala, which was until now under the district administration, will be now taken over by General Administration Department (GAD) of the state government.
The entire Cabinet will shift to Dharamshala for two months in the winters every year. Chief minister Virbhadra Singh, during his winter sojourn to Kangra district, had declared Dharamshala town as the second capital of the state on December 19 last year.
The surprise announcement was seen as a move for electoral gains in the election years in politically significant Kangra district, which alone sends 15 legislators to the 68-member-legislative assembly.
It had also triggered a war of words between the ruling Congress and opposition Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). The BJP had questioned relevance of second capital in the fund-starved state. Even Virbhadra’s detractors within the party and his Cabinet colleague, health minister Kaul Singh Thakur, had opposed the decision.
However, Virbhadra Singh had clarified that Dharamshala was already a second capital as it was home to the second complex of Vidhan Sabha and many other important offices.
He added that he had just formalised the second capital status. He also made it clear that second capital status accorded to Dharamshala will not be on the analogy of the ‘Durbar’ move in Jammu and Kashmir though some of the important directorates and offices might be shifted there in due course of time.