Bold initiatives paving way for a prosperous and self-reliant Himachal

–Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh

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On the auspicious occasion of India’s 78th Independence Day, I
extend my heartfelt greetings to the people of our nation. On this day in 1947,
India achieved freedom through the relentless struggle and supreme sacrifices of
our great freedom fighters.
As we commemorate this historic day, we honor the valiant
soldiers and visionary nation-builders who laid the foundation for our
independence. Their unwavering patriotism continues to inspire us to serve our
motherland with dedication, ensuring that our Tricolour flies high and proud.
It fills me with immense pride to acknowledge the remarkable
achievements of brave hearts of Himachal Pradesh, who have been honored
with prestigious awards. The nation’s first Param Vir Chakra was awarded to
Major Somnath Sharma followed by Colonel D.S. Thapa, Captain Vikram Batra
and Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar. The youth of the state are playing a crucial
role in the country’s armed forces. Our government is committed to providing
every possible support to our war veterans, soldiers, ex-servicemen and their
families.
The hardworking and honest people of Himachal Pradesh have
turned challenges into opportunities, driving the state towards steady
development. It is a matter of great pride that today, Himachal stands as a role
model for other hilly states in the country.
On December 11, 2022, the Congress government, with the full
support and blessings of the people, assumed the responsibility of public
service. Despite facing significant political, economic and natural disaster
challenges, our government is resolutely working to make Himachal an
economically self-reliant and prosperous state. I extend my deepest gratitude to
the people of the state for their unwavering support. Despite numerous
conspiracies aimed at destabilizing the democratically elected government, the
people of state stood firm and supported the government.
Our vision is to see Himachal Pradesh become self-reliant and the
most prosperous states in the country within the next decade. Despite the
financial challenges, our government remains committed to development and
public welfare. Our government has vigorously defended the interests of the
state in the courts, achieving favourable decisions in cases such as Adani Power
and Wildflower Hall hotel.
The wrong policies and decisions of the previous government put the
state in a deep financial crisis. Their policy of providing equal subsidies to both
the rich and the poor along-with other decisions imposed a burden of thousands of crores on the state. For instance, electricity and water bills in rural areas were
reduced to zero. Our government fully supports providing these benefits to
those in need, but we believe that well-off families should not be entitled to the
same subsidies. This year alone, the reduction in electricity bills to zero will
cost an additional burden of Rs. 780 crore, while the reduction in water bills
will add Rs. 300 crore to the state’s financial burden.
The 15th Finance Commission did injustice to the state by reducing the
grants. A grant of Rs. 10,249 crore provided in 2021-22 is projected to decrease
to Rs. 3,257 crore by 2025-26. This implies a substantial reduction of
approximately Rs. 7,000 crore in the funds available for the state’s development
in the coming years. Unfortunately, the previous government failed to address
this issue with the Centre. However, our government has strongly raised this
concern prominently with the 16th Finance Commission.
It came to the notice of the government that Himcare Yojana was
being misused and therefore we decided to exclude all 147 private hospitals
from the empanelment list. I want to assure that this scheme has not been
discontinued and its benefits will continue to be available in all government
health institutions. Additionally, the facility of dialysis will continue in the
private hospitals as well.
We observed that this year, 99 primary schools and 10 middle schools
in the state had no enrolments. Therefore, these schools will be closed. We have
taken a decision to merge primary schools within a two-kilometre radius and
middle schools within a three-kilometre radius with the nearest school if they
have five or fewer students. This consolidation will enhance the quality of
education by increasing the number of students and teachers in composite
schools.
In light of the irregularities, the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection
Commission has been dissolved and established the Himachal Pradesh State
Selection Commission to ensure complete transparency in recruitments. This
commission has already announced final results for 1,841 posts out of a total of
2,983 pending results, and efforts are on to release the remaining results soon.
We have also successfully resolved the long-pending JOA (IT) Post Code 817
case, stalled for four years and the results have now been declared following the
court’s decision.
Like previous year, this rainy season has brought immense hardship
upon us. We have tragically lost many lives due to natural disasters and I offer
my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. At this hour of grief, we stand
united and committed to rehabilitate each and every affected family. Each
affected family has been provided immediate relief of Rs. 50,000 and they are
being given Rs. 10,000 in urban areas and Rs. 5,000 in rural areas for renting a
home for a period of three months. The arrangements have also been made to
supply free rations, gas, utensils, bedding and cylinders to the affected.

We are resolute to protect and support the most vulnerable sections of
society. The Mukhyamantri Sukh-Aashray Yojana has been started for orphans
and destitute women. Under this Yojana 6,000 orphans have been adopted as
the ‘Children of the State’. The government is covering their education
expenses and providing them with pocket money. Mukhyamantri Sukh-Aashray
Kosh of Rs. 100 crore has also been established in the state.
We have fulfilled our guarantee by launching the Indira Gandhi Pyari
Behna Sukh-Samman Nidhi Yojana to ensure that women can live with dignity.
The eligible women are being provided a monthly honorarium of Rs. 1500.
Additionally, around 2.37 lakh women who were previously beneficiaries of
other pension schemes have also been brought under the ambit of this scheme
and their monthly pension has been raised to Rs. 1,500.
As per our election guarantee, we have also restored the old pension
scheme to the state government’s employees to ensure that they do not face
financial difficulties after retirement. This decision has benefited over 1.36 lakh
employees of state and their family members. However, approximately Rs.
9,200 crore of the employees’ National Pension System (NPS) funds remain
unresolved with the central government.
Fulfilling yet another election guarantee, we have launched Rs. 680
crore Rajiv Gandhi Start-up Yojana for the youth. Its first two phases
provisions 50 percent subsidy for buying e-taxi and installing solar plants on
private land. In the third phase, farmers will be motivated to adopt natural
farming. Moreover, Him Unnati Yojana has also been implemented to promote
natural farming.
The state has taken significant strides in the education sector. We
have fulfilled the guarantee of starting English medium from first class in
government schools. Rajiv Gandhi Day-Boarding Schools equipped with state-
of-the-art technology and equipment are being opened in every Assembly
constituency. Dr. Y.S. Parmar Student Loan Scheme has been launched,
offering loans up to Rs. 20 lakh at one percent interest rate to support students’
education.
Healthcare service is being accorded a top priority. Keeping in view
the rapid rise in cancer cases in the state, we have decided to provide free
treatment to cancer patients. Approval has been accorded to fill up as many as
462 posts of Doctors and para-medical staff in Tanda Medical College and 489
posts in IGMC Shimla and Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialities,
Chamyana (Shimla).
The horticulture sector plays a significant role in the state’s economy
and our government has implemented key measures to support orchardists. This
apple season, the use of universal cartons has been made mandatory and Rs. 153
crore has been released under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) to settle
all liabilities of apple growers, including Rs. 90 crore carried over from the revious government. The minimum support price of Rs. 12 per kilogram for
apples, mangoes and citrus fruits has also been maintained this year.
We have given added priority to increase agricultural production and
farmer’s income. It has been decided to buy naturally grown wheat at a
minimum support price of Rs. 40 and maize at Rs. 30 per kg, which is highest in
the country. As promised, we have also raised the minimum support price for
cow milk from Rs. 32 to Rs. 45 per liter, and for buffalo milk from Rs. 47 to Rs.
55 per liter. Himachal Pradesh is the only state in the country to offer a
minimum support price for milk.
We have also taken a revolutionary decision to transform Himachal
Pradesh into a green energy state by March 31, 2026. We have established six
green corridors across the state and in collaboration with the Oil India
Company, a one-megawatt Green Hydrogen Gas plant is being set up in
Nalagarh. A 32 MW solar power project has been made functional at Pekhubela
in Una district, which is projected to generate annual revenue of Rs. 19.17
crore. The construction work is underway on a 10 MW Aghlaur solar power
project and 5 MW solar power project at Bhanjal. These projects are expected to
generate revenue of more than Rs. 11 crore for the state.
Being a tourism friendly state, we are committed to enhancing
facilities and services for the visitors. Kangra is being developed as the tourism
capital of the state. Additionally, the expansion of Kangra airport was underway
and 16 heliports were being built across the state whereas the construction of
rope-ways is also being accelerated.
A sum of Rs. 517 crores has been allocated to the State Road
Transport Corporation for the purchase of electric buses. Steps have also been
taken to ensure a 24-hour drinking water supply for everyone in the state and to
improve water quality.
Our government has created over 31,000 employment opportunities
while the previous BJP government provided only 20,000 jobs during its entire
tenure.
For the first time, more than 1,87,500 revenue cases were resolved
through special Revenue Lok Adalats held at the tehsil and sub-tehsil levels in
the state providing much needed relief from visiting government offices for
revenue related matters. The H.P. Mines and Mineral Policy-2024 has been
introduced to curb illegal mining and boost state revenue through scientific
mining practices.
Despite inheriting a debt from the previous government of over Rs.
75,000 crore and liabilities of employees amounting to approximately Rs.
10,000 crore, we would not allow economic challenges to hinder our
commitment to the state’s development and public welfare. With the co-
operation of the people of Himachal Pradesh, we would achieve our goal of
making the state self-reliant and prosperous.

Once again, I congratulate everyone on Independence Day and wish
all the people of the state a happy and healthy life.