Himachal Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri lays stones of works in Haroli

Himachal Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today inaugurated a panchayat community building in Kungrat village and laid the foundation stone of another community building in Beetan panchayat, both in Haroli Assembly segment. A sum of Rs 33 lakh has been spent on the building in Kungrat and the building in Beetan will come up at a cost of Rs 1.15 crore.

Speaking at Beetan, Agnihotri said panchayats are the foundation of democracy in the country at the rural level and the state government is working towards strengthening these institutions. He said the government is equipping these community centres with Lok Mitra Kendras for public services, meeting halls, computer connectivity to access government schemes, public libraries and panchayat office — all under one roof.

The Deputy CM said work on the Beet area Lift Irrigation Scheme – 2 is progressing at a brisk pace, adding that once commissioned, it would irrigate 50,000 kanals of land in 28 high-altitude villages in Haroli segment, adding that with many other deep bore irrigation schemes underway, the Assembly segment will achieve “100 per cent irrigated” status by 2027.

The Deputy CM informed that due to good financial management, the state Transport Department has succeeded in earning revenue of Rs 1,000 crore and for this achievement, the Union Government has given Rs 93 crore as incentive to the state Transport Department.

Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh Taxi Operator Welfare Association today met Agnihotri, who also holds charge of the Transport Department. The association thanked the government for extending the duration of the vehicle permits of taxis by three years from the existing 12 years to 15 years. The delegation was led by association president Ram Rattan Sharma.

Agnihotri said this demand was one of the election promises by the Congress. However, on examination, it was found that the matter pertained to the preview of the Centre, he said, adding that the state government took up the matter vigorously with the Union Government. As a result, the taxi operators all over the country were benefitted through the Union Government notification for all states and Union Territories.