Barotiwala to have degree college

Tribune News Service

Solan, April 13

Accepting the demands of Doon MLA Ramkumar Chowdhary, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today announced a degree college at Barotiwala in Doon segment.

The CM, during his day’s visit to the Doon constituency, announced a slew of schemes and also laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 60 crore. Later addressing a rally at Baddi, he said this was the first instalment of development work and he would come again to announce more projects to this industrial area.

Taking the BJP to task for having ignored this constituency, he said he believed in abiding by his commitments and not in making false promises about development. He said the BJP had spent Rs 62 crore in its five-year tenure in the irrigation sector whereas the government had spent Rs 132 crore during its first two years only.

He said the government was keen to address the problems of the area as Baddi was emerging as the industrial hub of the country.

The CM said to boost the industrialisation, Baddi would be connected with rail link and 50 per cent of the cost would be borne by the state government. He said Himachal was fast heading towards becoming an industrial hub as its serene environment and industrial-friendly policies, low power tariff and adequate infrastructure were attracting the entrepreneurs.

He said there were 40,500 industries with an investment of Rs 18,375 crore which provided employment to 2,85,390 persons.

He said the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority had spent Rs 45 crore on basic infrastructure.

He said in the water sector, the BJP had spent Rs 62 crore whereas his government had spent Rs132 crore during the last two years of its regime.

Virbhadra inaugurated a lift drinking water supply scheme at Shadiyana village in Doon completed at a cost of Rs 88.36 lakh which would benefit two gram panchayats of the area with a population of more than 14,000.

He also laid the stone of a bridge over Kuthar Khud at Loon Kiar which would be constructed at a cost Rs 6.06 crore and another one on the Baniya Devi-Bughar road to be completed with an outlay of Rs 5.16 crore. A stone was also laid for a potable water supply scheme at Dehla which would cost Rs 2.31 crore, besides seven tube wells in Seran Thana to cost Rs 5.25 crore.

The stone of a container parking and warehouse at Malpur in Baddi and that of a drinking water supply scheme Haripur Sandholi- Khabadiya Baas was also laid. This would facilitate parking for containers in 2.83 lakh square feet.

Others present on the occasion included Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, MLA Ramkumar Chowdhary, IPH Minister Vidya Stokes, Social Justice Minister DR Shandil among other dignitaries.