Shimla: Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has raised the demand for scaling up the 12th Five Year Plan to Rs 27,556 Cr with planning commission, which is almost double of the 11th Plan.
Speaking at a midterm appraisal of the current annual plan with legislators, Dhumal said that the state had set a target of 9.5 percent growth for the 12th Plan period.
He said that the government had asked the central government for special assistance for the state due to the difficult geographic conditions and for the efforts made to conserve the environment.
“The 13th Finance Commission has not appreciated our genuine demands and only gave an increase of 50% in allocation of resources to the state, which was the lease in the country and whereas others got allocation increases upto 126 percent,†he said. This was great injustice to Himachal Pradesh,†he added.
Dhumal said that against a permissible loan limit of Rs 2035 for the state, the center had curtailed the limit at Rs 1647 Cr only. The issue had been taken up with the prime minister, he added.
Years Plan period besides giving suggestions for adopting economy measures and generating financial resources in the larger interest of development of the State.
Speaking on the midterm appraisal initiatives, Nand Lal, the elected representative from Rampur sought speeding up of road connectivity to Kashapat and Pandrah-Beesh landlocked areas and Khushi Ram Balnahta asked for making the road to Dodra Kwar operational for maximum period during a year.
Shimla city lawmaker Suresh Bhardwaj highlighted the need for more parking lots, construction of a marketing yard, execution of tunnels and planning of a mono-rail public transport system to decongest the city.
Leader of opposition Vidya Stokes asked the government to give due consideration to lawmakers recommendations in policy formulation and optimum utilization of public funds.
Former speaker Gangu Ram Musafir asked for strengthening rural infrastructure and effectively dealing with monkey menace damaging crops.
Renuka legislator Prem Singh stressed upon the need for quality educational infrastructure and demanded that liquor vends near educational institutions be closed down.
Shillai MLA Harshwardhan Chauhan, MLA, Shillai sought industrial development based upon locally available raw materials.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
