Will bring white paper on HP’s fiscal health in budget session: CM Sukhu
Blaming his predecessor Jai Ram Thakur for Himachal Pradesh’s poor fiscal health, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said his government will bring a white paper on state’s economic condition in the upcoming budget session
Blaming his predecessor Jai Ram Thakur for Himachal Pradesh’s poor fiscal health, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said his government will bring a white paper on state’s economic condition in the upcoming budget session.
”We will bring a white paper in the Vidhan Sabha, which will help people of the state to understand in a better way the reality of the unmindful spendings done by the previous BJP government,” Sukhu said, while ‘advising’ the leader of the opposition to ‘introspect’ the last five years of his tenure before casting any allegations.
“The present state government has inherited a debt of ₹75,000 crore. The previous BJP regime even failed to release arrears worth ₹11,000 crore to government employees,” he said on the sidelines of his meeting with party workers at the Congress headquarters in Shimla. Sukhu said the state government was marching ahead with a positive approach to improve the economy of Himachal.
“To ensure speedy redressal of grievances of the Congress workers, I will visit the party office once a month. This move has been initiated in consultation with state Congress president Pratibha Singh,” he said, adding that it would improve coordination between the state government and workers of the Congress besides general public.
A delegation of Outsource Employees’ Association of Health and Jal Shakti department also called upon the chief minister and apprised him of their various demands, including framing of a policy for the outsourced employees. Sukhu assured them that the government would consider their genuine demands sympathetically. He said his government was actively working to revamp the system.
On hike in prices of LPG cylinders, Sukhu said, “BJP leaders, especially Jai Ram Thakur, should come forward and speak to the Prime Minister, asking him to withdraw the decision of increasing the rates.”
Ready for debate on white paper: Jai Ram
Leader of Opposition in Himachal assembly Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday welcomed chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s decision to present a white paper on state’s financial health in the upcoming budget session and said, “We are ready for an open discussion on it.”
While addressing his party members who gathered on the Mall Road in Shimla to celebrate BJP’s victory in N-E states’ elections, he said, “Once again, we make it clear that the figures which the Congress is presenting are completely wrong.” If any party while in power has taken maximum loan in Himachal Pradesh, it is the Congress, he claimed.
“The Congress should stop the politics of allegations and counter-allegations and talk about development,” he said, adding that the BJP had started various public welfare schemes, but the present government created hurdles in them.
Manufacture Himachal-specific prototype e-buses: Sukhu
CM Sukhu during a meeting with representatives of electric vehicles manufacturing companies asked them to make Himachal-specific prototype e-buses in a time-bound manner, keeping in mind various parameters like hilly terrain, loading capacity and luggage space. He asked the companies to incorporate modern technology and ensure quality.
He said a committee would be formed to decide all modalities and specifications for the prototype e-buses under the chairmanship of chief secretary.
The state government is planning to transform Parwanoo-Nalagarh-Una-Hamirpur-Nadaun-Dehra highway into a ‘Clean and Green’ corridor and necessary infrastructure would be developed for that, Sukhu said.
