Virbhadra credits HP’s growth to Cong govt

Tribune News Service

Bilaspur, January 25

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the state had progressed tremendously in the past 44 years and witnessed balanced development of all areas, the credit of which went to the honest and hardworking people of Himachal Pradesh, besides the Congress governments.

He was addressing a gathering after hoisting the Tricolour on the 45th Statehood Day celebrations here today.

He said the people would ever remain indebted to first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for formation and Indira Gandhi for granting the statehood status to Himachal on January 25,1971.

Remembering the first Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, late Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar, Virbhadra said Dr Parmar played a significant role in the formation of Himachal Pradesh and initiated all possible measures for overall development of the state and make it self-sufficient.

“It is my pleasure that I am serving the people for more than 19 years as the Chief Minister,” he said and added that it was due to the affection of the people that he was serving the state with renewed commitment.

The Chief Minister said the government had adopted its election manifesto as a policy document and was committed to fulfilling all promises. “We want to make Himachal a prosperous state on all fronts,” he said.

“The government with a motive to provide transparent and responsive administration has adopted zero-tolerance towards corruption,” he said.

Fulfilling the promises made in the election manifesto, an ambitious Rs 500 crore Skill Development Allowance scheme had been started in the state wherein an allowance of Rs 1,000 for skill development was being provided to educated unemployed, besides Rs 1,500 per month was being given to the physically disabled. A separate provision had been made to relax the educational qualifications for different trades under the scheme. So far, more than 61,000 youth had benefited from the scheme, he added.

To ensure shelter to homeless, two biswas of land in urban areas and three biswas of land in rural areas were being provided to the poor free of cost to construct their own house, said the Chief Minister, adding that 13,270 such homes were constructed under both Rajeev Gandhi and Indira Aawas Yojnas by spending Rs 8,942 lakh. He said the financial assistance to construct houses under the housing schemes had been enhanced from Rs 48,500 to Rs 75,000.

The government had launched the Rajeev Gandhi Ann Yojna under which 37 lakh people were being provided ration at subsidised rates every month, he said. Besides, Rs 220 crore was being spent on providing essential edible items to the people under the Food Subsidy Scheme.

The BPL families were being provided 35 kg of ration. During the last two years, Rs 457 crore had been spent under the scheme.

He said social welfare had been the top priority of the government and the Social Security Pension of widows, old-aged and physically disabled had been enhanced from Rs 450 to Rs 550 per month, besides providing Social Security Pension of Rs 1,000 to those above 80 years of age.

As of now, all 3.5 lakh eligible beneficiaries were being provided the social security pension. A sum of Rs 366 crore was spent on social security pensions during the last two years, he added.

Besides, 9,800 needy were extended immediate financial assistance of Rs 2,361 lakh from the Chief Minister Relief Fund during the last two years of the present government.

Roads and bridges

CM said the government was committed for construction of roads and developing existing infrastructure. In past two years, 910-km new roads and 98 bridges were constructed. The state government had succeeded in getting sanctioned six new national highways, he said, adding that 1,300 new buses had been added to the existing fleet of the HRTC.

Industry

• The CM said the government is according approval to new industrial units in the state within 90 days through single window system
• In the past two years, 118 new industrial proposals were cleared which will provide jobs to over 11,000 youth, he said
• An investment proposal of Rs 2,500 cr has been approved. Kangra, Una and Solan were being developed as potential industrial hubs, he said

Employee welfare

• Financial benefits worth Rs 2,035 cr given to employees. Besides this, contractual and daily-wage employees were being regularised, he said.
• He said the government had decided to reopen the administrative tribunal with its headquarters in Shimla and Circuit Bench in Dharamsala.
• A provision of Rs 388 cr made for providing cheap power to consumers