CM releases Rs 91.62 lakhs to 509 eligible women of Dodra-Kwar as Samman Nidhi

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today laid the foundation stones and inaugurated projects worth about Rs 12 crore in Dodra-Kwar, a remote area of ??Shimla district.

He inaugurated the Gosang-Jiskun road constructed at a cost of Rs 5.43 crore and laid the foundation stone of Dodra-Chamdhar road to be constructed at a cost of Rs 5.46 crore besides Gosang-Harli road to be constructed at a cost of Rs 85 lakh.

The Chief Minister also inaugurated the first ATM in Kwar, which has been installed by Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank.

He launched Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi for district Shimla from Dodra Kwar and released 12 month’s Samman Nidhi to 509 eligible women from 1 April, 2024. He released an amount of Rs 91.62 lakh to the beneficiary women and Rs 45.45 lakh as six month’s pension at the rate of Rs 1500 per month to 505 other women of Dodra-Kwar who are receiving social security pension. He said that under Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi, the state government was providing Rs 18 thousand per year to illegible women.

The Chief Minister said that this was his third visit to Dodra Kwar. The government would bring schemes to empower the five panchayats of Dodra-Kwar. He said that work was going on at war footing to build a road till Jakha, which would be completed by December this year. The state government would also create a separate Zila Parishad for Dodra-Kwar so that the public representatives could convey the problems of the region to the state government in a better manner.

Shri Sukhu announced to give rupees one crore each for the development of five panchayats of Dodra Kwar. He announced to provide Rs. 4.5 crores for bailey bridge to connect Uttarakhand, which will provide 12-month connectivity to Dodra-Kwar. He announced to provide full funds for two bridges to be built between Jiskoon and Jakha. He said that the 50 km road to be built from Ladrot to Dodra Kwar would be paved by October 2025. He also assured to provide adequate funds to complete the rest house of Public Works Department being constructed in Kwar.

He said that the school work under construction in Dodra would be completed soon and adequate staff would be deployed there. Along with this, doctors and nurses would also be appointed in Dodra-Kwar to provide better health facilities to the people of the region. He also assured to provide funds for the new building of the civil hospital. He announced to give Rs. 25 lakh for paving the road from Kwar heliport to SDM office and to run a bus till Jiskoon.

Shri Sukhu also inspected the land identified for civil hospital at Kwar and directed to complete it soon. He said that the state government would take up the matter with the Central government to provide OBC status to Dodra-Kwar area.

He said that Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank has provided loan without any guarantee to 200 women of Dodra-Kwar under the Empowered Women Loan Scheme, while there were 29,000 women beneficiaries of this scheme in the state. He said that the state government was moving forward in the direction of making Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant state.

He added, “The government is paying special attention to the rural economy because his own background is rural. The state government is making plans to ensure the people of the villages have money in their hands.”

The Chief Minister said that to boost the rural economy, wheat and maize produced through natural farming are being purchased at the rate of Rs. 40 and Rs. 30 per kg respectively. The minimum support price of cow milk has been increased from Rs. 32 to Rs. 45 and the minimum support price of buffalo milk to Rs. 55. Along with this, the daily wage of MNREGA has also been enhanced to Rs. 300.

Taking a jibe at the BJP, the Chief Minister said that the BJP leaders were repeatedly spreading lies on the guarantees of the Congress Party. Ever since ‘Operation Lotus’ failed and the seats of the Congress Party increased from 34 to 40, the BJP had been misleading the people by spreading misleading propaganda. He said that confusion was being spread about the economic condition of the state and new gimmicks were being given.

Shri Sukhu said that the present state government effectively dealt with the disaster last year and gave a special package of Rs. 4500 crore to the affected families. The government ensured that the apple of the orchardists reaches the market so that they did not have to bear financial losses. The state government had adopted orphan children as ‘Children of the State’. He said, “We do not want to leave these children at the mercy of anyone, rather we have made it the responsibility of the government by making a law. Besides, separate marks have been kept for orphan children in the recruitment of Van Mitras.”

The Chief Minister said that the state government was providing free education to 23,000 children of the widows and single women of the state. The state government was also bearing the expenses of education of the children of widowed women. Moreover, a centre of excellence for specially-abled children was being established in Kandaghat of district Solan where accommodation facility for 300 children would be available. The purpose of setting up this centre was to ensure the overall development of specially abled children so that they could become self-reliant and lead a respectable life.

He performed Annaprashan of three children in Kwar and financial assistance of Rs 31,000 each was provided to four eligible families under Shagun Yojana. He also provided Rs 4000 per month as pocket money for three months to five orphan children under Mukhyamantri Sukhashray Yojana and Rs 21,000 each to two families under Beti Hai Anmol Yojana.

The girl students of the school presented a cultural programme and the Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs 50,000 to them.

Earlier, the Chief Minister was accorded a warm welcome by the people dressed in traditional attire on his arrival at Kwar.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mohan Lal Brakta thanked the Chief Minister for developmental projects in the area and starting the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi in district Shimla from Dodra-Kwar. He said that development in Rohru Assembly constituency had been the gift of Congress governments. After the formation of the new government, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu restarted the stalled development works in Dodra-Kwar.

Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Forest Corporation Kehar Singh Khachi, Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Cooperative Bank Devendra Shyam, Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment Ashish Singhmar, Vice President Zila Parishad Surendra Retka, Director Women and Development Department Kiran Bhadana, Rohru Mandal Congress President Kartar Singh Kulla, Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap, SP Sanjeev Gandhi, Panchayat representatives, senior officers and other dignitaries were also present on this occasion.