Files Before People: Pangi Power Project Collapses Under Official Negligence. MLA Demands High level probe and immediate action against the erring officials.
Shimla/Chamba:
In Himachal Pradesh’s remote Pangi Valley, darkness is no longer just due to a hard high altitude region, it is administrative now.
A vital 33 kV power transmission line project in Chamba district has come to a dead halt after government agencies allegedly pushed work without mandatory forest clearance, forcing construction to be abandoned midway.
The result: crores of public money locked in a stalled project and an entire tribal valley left paying the price.
BJP MLA Dr Janak Raj raised this issue today in Vidhan Sabha in zero hour.
The lapse has exposed a familiar but disturbing pattern—projects sanctioned on paper, rules ignored on ground, and accountability nowhere in sight, especially when it comes to remote Himalayan regions.
Records show the project moved ahead despite incomplete statutory approvals. When the violation surfaced, work stopped instantly—leaving Pangi Valley stranded yet again, with unreliable power in one of the harshest terrains of the state.
For residents battling long winters, poor connectivity, and fragile health infrastructure, electricity is not a luxury, it means survival.
BJP MLA from Bharmour-Pangi, Dr Janak Raj, slammed the government for what he called “institutional negligence.”
“Pangi has been reduced to a footnote in the development files of the state,” he said.
“Starting a power project without forest clearance is not a mistake—it is sheer irresponsibility. Officials will sit in Shimla, but the punishment is suffered by people in Pangi.”
He demanded a high-level inquiry, strict action against erring officials, and time-bound completion of the project.
“If this is allowed to be buried under files, I will raise it on the streets. Development cannot stop where the road ends,” he warned.
The issue has been formally flagged to the Chief Minister, Energy Minister, Chief Secretary, and top forest authorities, seeking a public explanation on who stalled the project and why.
For locals, the stalled line is a symbol of how tribal and border regions are repeatedly short-changed, where lapses go unpunished and delays become permanent.
Will CM redeem miseries of the Pangwals or turn a deaf ear?
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