Political tensions have intensified in Himachal Pradesh’s capital Shimla over the ongoing construction work in the Mall Road area. Keshav Chauhan, District President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shimla, has strongly criticized the Congress-led state government over the duct project being executed within the Municipal Corporation limits, calling it a wasteful use of public funds.
Chauhan alleged that funds provided by the central government under the Smart City Mission are being utilized for unnecessary projects that have been imposed on the public without proper justification. He claimed that the duct project under construction on Mall Road is estimated to cost more than ₹260 crore, with concerns that the expenditure may increase further in the future.
Questioning the planning process, the BJP leader said that neither a proper assessment of the project’s actual necessity nor a clear outline of its public benefits was presented before its implementation. According to him, the project will neither improve traffic management nor provide any direct benefit to common citizens, raising doubts about the justification for such a massive expenditure.
Chauhan further stated that essential evaluations such as benefit-cost analysis, traffic studies, and public impact assessments should be conducted before launching any large-scale infrastructure project. However, he alleged that these standards were ignored in this case, resulting in inconvenience for residents and visitors alike.
He added that prolonged construction activities have caused significant disruption on Mall Road and nearby areas, affecting business operations, tourism, and daily life in Shimla.
The BJP district president demanded that the state government release a white paper detailing the project’s cost, necessity, and expected benefits, ensuring transparency regarding the spending of hundreds of crores of public money. He also warned that the BJP would continue to raise the issue and hold the Congress government accountable for alleged misuse of public funds.
