Govt taking steps to fill vacant posts in Chamba, says Speaker

Our Correspondent

Chamba, August 12

The Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, today said the state government was taking appropriate steps to fill the posts lying vacant in various departments of Chamba district.

He was presiding over a review meeting to assess progress of various developmental projects being executed under the district plan and 20-point programme. The meeting was chaired Pathania as the Chairman of the district planning and 20-point programme Committee.

The meeting focused on a comprehensive review of various programmes under the 20-point programme, including MG-NREGA, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, National Health Mission, malaria control programmes, rural electrification, small irrigation schemes, mid-day meal scheme, child welfare schemes under the Integrated Child Development Project, environmental conservation and tree plantation initiatives, along with the implementation of minimum wage laws.

The meeting also approved several decentralised planning programmes from the financial years 2017-18 to 2023-24, including the State Decentralised Plan (SDP), the MLA local area development scheme , the Chief Minister’s rural road scheme and works under the backward area sub-plan.

Pathania emphasised the critical role of officials and employees in achieving development goals in any region. He highlighted that Chamba was included among the aspirational districts of the country in terms of development, requiring all officials, employees and public representatives to work in coordination and with dedication.

The Speaker said that the Himachal Pradesh Government was giving special priority to development works in the district, and recently, during the conclusion of the Minjar fair, the Chief Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for development projects worth approximately Rs 120 crore for the district. He assured that efforts would be made to secure additional funding from the state government for future developmental projects in the district.

Pathania instructed the Deputy Commissioner of Chamba to ensure that the important issues discussed in the meeting were included in future district-level meetings on development progress to ensure that positive outcomes on crucial development aspects were achieved. He also directed officials to complete long-pending projects within the next six months and submit their utilisation certificates. Furthermore, he urged the officials to reallocate the budget for pending development projects to other areas so that the funds provided by the government could benefit the local population.

During the meeting, District Development Officer Om Prakash Thakur informed the Speaker that during the fiscal year 2023-24, 55.86 lakh person-days of work was generated for 1,40,000 MG-NREGA job card holders in the district, which is 123 per cent more than the target of 45.50 lakh person-days, with an expenditure of Rs 21.71 crore. Additionally, under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, 700 individual toilets were constructed, achieving 100 per cent of the set target.

The meeting was attended by Chamba legislator Neeraj Nayar; Bharmour MLA Dr Janak Raj; Neelam Nayar, Chairperson of Chamba Municipal Council; Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Repaswal; Superintendent of Police Abhishek Yadav; Additional District Magistrate Amit Mehra; and heads and officials of various departments.