Himachal CM Sukhu: Will adopt 'open policy' for investment

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, January 17

The Himachal Pradesh Government would adopt an ‘open policy’ for attracting investment in five key sectors, including tourism, health tourism, hydropower, food-processing and information technology, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said today.

Talking to The Tribune in Nurpur, Sukhu said under the new policy, investors would have to only submit an investment proposal, and the onus to secure various clearances would lie on the officials concerned in the government.

The Chief Minister was headed to Indora (Kangra district) to review arrangements for former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, which would tomorrow enter Himachal from Punjab before proceeding towards Pathankot and then Jammu and Kashmir.

CM Sukhu said his government’s focus would be on revenue generation from own resources, for which attracting fresh investment was a must. About restrictions under Section 118 of the land tenancy Act that barred non-agriculturists from purchasing agricultural land in the state, he said “the process of giving permissions under certain sectors would be expedited”. Only bona fide Himachalis with agricultural background can buy land in the state.

Attacking the previous BJP government, he said the state was under a debt of Rs 75,000 crore. Besides, he said, the government owed the employees and pensioners about Rs 11,000 crore in the form of arrears and dearness allowance. The 900 new offices and institutions that were announced by the previous BJP government during the last six months of its rule would have put an additional burden of Rs 5,000 crore on the exchequer, he said. “If our government had not withdrawn the notification for opening of new offices and institutions, Himachal would have gone bankrupt,” he said.

About the financial implications of the old pension scheme that his government had restored, the CM said it was implemented as it was “linked with social security of the state people”. “About 40 per cent of the state’s population is directly or indirectly linked to government jobs. By providing OPS, the government has provided social security to all these people,” he said.

Asked how funds would be generated for various welfare schemes, including Rs 1,500 to all women aged between 18 and 60 years, the CM said the government would have to take “some harsh steps in the near future too”. The government recently hiked VAT on diesel by Rs 3 per litre. He hinted at “hiking” taxes in the state’s budget saying it was “mandatory for a bright future”. He also said steps for bringing financial discipline in government spending would be introduced.

Sukhu said Kangra would remain high on his priority list for tourism promotion. “I have asked the officials to draw a roadmap for bringing up a golf course, expanding the Gaggal airport and building a zoo in Dehra and an IT park in Palampur,” he said.

Hints at more taxes

Some taxes may have to be hiked to ensure a bright future for the Himachal people. Steps for bringing financial discipline in government spending will also be introduced. — Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Himachal Pradesh CM

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