Himachal Pradesh grapples with a surge in missing persons cases, as Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu addresses the state assembly on the government's response and related issues including healthcare liabilities and illegal logging.
More than 1,500 cases of missing persons have been reported in Himachal Pradesh in the past three years, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told the state assembly on Friday.
In a written reply to a question of BJP MLA from Badsar, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Sukhu said there has been an increase in the number of missing persons in Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Chamba, Mundi, Solan, Kangra and Una districts.
A total of 1,534 missing persons cases have been recorded in the state till January 31, 2026, he said.
Sukhu added there was no indication of organ trafficking or the involvement of any gang behind the cases, saying that these are understood to be people going missing under "mysterious circumstances".
Most of the missing person cases are from Solan district at 255, followed by 223 in Mandi, 200 in Kangra, 186 in Shimla, 121 in Sirmaur, 117 in Hamirpur, 104 in Kullu, 103 in Una, 98 in Chamba and 75 in Bilaspur.
Himachal Pradesh Police, in a statement issued in 2023, said the missing persons figure for the three-year period of 2020-2022 was 7,038 people, out of which 6,183 (87.8 per cent) were subsequently traced.
State Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil told the House in a written reply that liabilities amounting to Rs 391.27 crore are currently pending with hospitals associated with the Himcare scheme, which covers 4.33 lakh families.
Himcare Health Care Scheme provides free healthcare services to low-income individual groups who are not covered under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana or Jan Arogya Yojana, according to to the government.
The minister said the Sahara scheme, which provides financial assistance of Rs 3,000 per month to patients from economically weaker sections with specific diseases, has 37,819 beneficiaries.
In the last three years till January 31, 2026, more than 2.23 lakh families were added to the Himcare scheme and 13,384 new beneficiaries were added to the Sahara scheme, Shandil added.
In reply to another question, CM Sukhu said 307 pine trees were axed on private land falling under the jurisdiction of Nagar Panchayat Shillai in Sirmaur district, even though permission had only been granted for 25 trees.
An FIR has been registered against the individual for unauthorised felling of trees, he said.
Nathuram Chauhan, an environmental activist, has alleged that a large number of trees were illegally felled in Shillai and demanded a high-level enquiry into the matter.