Shimla, Mar 15 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh is the only state where clearance from the Supreme Court is required for construction of roads and other development works on forest land, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Tuesday. Replying to a cut motion on the Public Works Department (PWD), Thakur said the construction of roads and other development works were delayed in Himachal Pradesh as clearances are required from the forest department and the SC. First, stage-one clearance is taken, subsequently stage-two clearance is obtained and then for the final clearance, the hill state has to go to approach the apex court, he said. Courts were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and at that time, over 600 development projects of the state remained pending for clearance in the SC, the chief minister added. Thakur said his government has completed construction of most of the roads and repaired many others despite delay in getting clearance during the pandemic. "Our priority is to provide quality roads". As many as 10,899 out of total 17,882 villages in the hill state are connected with roads, the chief minister said. The Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna played a vital role in construction of roads in the rural areas of the state, he added. Earlier, Congress legislator Jagat Singh Negi, while speaking on the cut motion, alleged that "commission system" continued to prevail in the PWD department. PTI DJI CK