•Govt. launched various initiatives to strengthen the rural economy-CM
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced the opening of a Civil Court at Chowari in the Bhatiyat Assembly Constituency of Chamba district. He also announced the opening of CBSE-affiliated schools in the area on the demands of the local people. Besides, he announced financial assistance of Rs. 10 crore for various road projects in the constituency.
The Chief Minister made these announcements while addressing a massive public meeting at Chowari Chowgan in the Bhatiyat Assembly Constituency today.
He said that the state government would launch the ‘Mukhyamantri Ka Apna Parivar Sukhi Parivar Yojana’ from next month to provide financial assistance of Rs. 1,500 per month to eligible women belonging to poor families. He said that under scheme, 300 units of free electricity per month and free medical treatment through health insurance cards would also be provided to the beneficiaries. He said that around 20,000 women of 10,000 eligible families of the Bhatiyat constituency would benefit from the scheme.
Sh. Sukhu said that it was for the first time in the history of Himachal Pradesh that a government had adopted a vision specifically focused on strengthening the rural economy. The state government was providing minimum support price of Rs. 150 per kg for raw turmeric, Rs. 80 per kg for wheat and Rs. 50 per kg for maize. He added that the State Government was giving support prices of Rs. 61 per litre for cow milk and Rs. 71 for buffalo milk, nearly double the earlier rates.
The Chief Minister said that the state government had also undertaken significant reforms in the health sector to ensure access to state-of-the-art medical facilities up to the rural areas. He said that Rs. 190 crore had been allocated for the smooth functioning of Chamba Medical College, besides providing 32 postgraduate seats in the college.
He said that the previous BJP government played with the sentiments of the people and failed on the governance front. He added that, amid the financial challenges, the central government has discontinued the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) to the state. The state had also not received the financial assistance of Rs. 1,500 crore till now announced by the Prime Minister during his visit to the state after the natural disaster. Despite these challenges, he said, the state was moving ahead on the path of prosperity and self-reliance through resource mobilisation and by eliminating corruption.
The Chief Minister said that the previous BJP government opened several health and educational institutions without ensuring the availability of the required staff. In contrast, the present government had rationalised educational institutions and filled thousands of vacant teaching posts. With a view to providing quality education to students in rural areas, the state government had opened at least two to three CBSE-affiliated schools in every Vidhan Sabha segment and recruited over 2,700 teachers strictly on merit. He further said that more than 100 schools were being upgraded to the CBSE pattern, for which the posts of teaching staff had already been advertised. He said that due to the pragmatic efforts of the present state government, the state ranked fifth in providing of quality education to the students in the year 2025 which was at 21st in the year 2021 during the tenure of BJP government.
Speaking on the occasion, Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said that the present state government had ensured balanced and accelerated development across all Assembly constituencies of Chamba district. Referring to his home constituency, Bhatiyat, he said that it was once considered a backward constituency. However, the present government had ensured its all-round development, particularly in the sectors of roads, healthcare, education and drinking water supply.
He said that Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had taken several historic and innovative initiatives to strengthen the social security of weaker sections of society. These included the launch of the Mukhyamantri Sukh-Aashray Yojana and the Mukhyamantri Green Panchayat Yojana, besides enhancing financial assistance for the reconstruction of houses completely damaged in disasters from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 8.5 lakh. The Speaker also apprised the Chief Minister of various developmental demands of the Bhatiyat area.
Two minutes silence was also observed during the public meeting to pay respects to MLA and Chairman, 7th State Finance Commission Nand Lal who passed away today and Youth Congress leader Chandermani Kulethi who lost his life in a tragic incident recently.
MLA Neeraj Nayyar, former Minister Asha Kumari, former MLA Ajay Mahajan, Zila Parishad Chairperson Rekha Thakur and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
