Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday said the state government is providing support price for milk and soon minimum support price (MSP) will be given on ginger also.
Within a year the Sarahan hospital will have specialist doctors and ultrasound machine. He announced opening of a CBSE school in Sarahan and double-laning of the Sarahan-Chandigarh road.
Addressing a public gathering in Sarahan, he promised to fulfill all demands of local Congress leader Dayal Pyari and former Assembly Speaker Gangu Ram Musafir.
Remembering state’s first Chief Minister Dr Y.S. Parmar, the Chief Minister said that he enacted Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, which regulates the transfer of land to non-agriculturists, to protect the interests of the people of Himachal Pradesh and the current government is following his footsteps.
He said the state had been receiving the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) since Dr Parmar’s time, but the 16th Finance Commission took away this 77 year old right.
“The RDG belongs to the people of Himachal, not the government.”
The Chief Minister said the government “is fighting for the rights of the state. At the request of BJP leaders, the venue of the all-party meeting was changed, but the BJP did not stand up for Himachal’s interests, while all other parties supported the state government on the issue of the RDG”.
“In the meeting, I asked whether BJP leaders were in favour of Himachal Pradesh receiving the RDG, but they did not say a word. The BJP leaders should clarify their stand on the Rs 10,000 crore cut before the people of the state,” he said.
CM Sukhu said the people of Himachal Pradesh “are not asking for alms, this is Himachal Pradesh’s right”.
He said the government would continue to fight for its rights and the support of the people is essential for this purpose. Challenging BJP leaders, he asked them to get the RDG reinstated by the Prime Minister.
CM Sukhu said the previous BJP government received an additional amount of Rs 70,000 crore in five years, but they did not utilise the funds wisely.
“Had the BJP government utilised this money wisely, the state would not have a debt of Rs 76,000 crore and liabilities of Rs 10,000 crore,” the Chief Minister added.
(IANS)
