Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh urged the Panchayat representatives to incorporate the name of poorest of poor and deserving in BPL list excluding well-off persons so that poor and downtrodden get their due share of welfare policies of the State government. The Panchayat representatives should identify the eligible beneficiaries for taking benefit of various welfare schemes, he added.He was addressing a massive public meeting at Rakkar in Jaswan-Pragpur assembly constituency of Kangra district today. He said that it was the duty of every citizen to realise that they are Indians first and would not allow any type of intolerance and also reject the people spreading such activities and dividing people on lines of region and religion. “I believe in unity and the people who dividethe nation on region and religion and create intolerance should be rejected outrightly”, he said.The Chief Minister announced upgradation of PHC Rakkar to Community Health Centre (CHC), upgradation of Police post Rakkar to Police Station and also announced upgradation of Government High School Kuhna and Bari to Government Senior Secondary Schools.Virbhadra Singh said that the Government was committed to welfare of the senior citizens, widows and women folk and weaker sections of the society and had taken many steps for their welfare. The government has enhanced the social security pension from Rs 450 to Rs 600 per month and providing Rs 1100 to the persons above 80 years of age irrespective of the income bar under this scheme. At present the government was providing pension to as many as three lakh four thousand 921 people, he said.
The government has taken up the task of channelising major rivers of the state which create havoc during monsoons and took huge toll of life and property. The Government has taken up Rs.922 crore project of channelising Swan river and its 73 tributaries in Una district and the work was being done on war-footing thereby reclaiming thousands acres of land which have proved a boon for the farmers . The work of channelising, Chaunch khud in Kangra, Pabbar in Rohru and other rivers were also being done, he added.Chief Minister said that the government was committed to provide technical education to the children. In order to enhance the skills of the youth, the government had started Rs 500 crore Skill Development Allowance scheme so that the unemployed youth of the state could find jobs not only in private sector but in government sector too and they were being provided skill development allowance of Rs. 1000 per month. Besides, many technical institutes like ITI’s were being opened to provide training to the youth to develop their skills, he added.The government is making sincere efforts for development of Rakkar, Dadasiba and Kasba Kotla tehsils, which though have different geographical topography would be developed equally, which none of the MLA’s of Jaswan-Pragpur constituency or Dehra have done, he said.
The Chief Minister warned those persons who attacked the policemen in Rakkar and said that vandalism would not be tolerated at any cost. He said that the mining mafia or any other person who try to disturb law and order would be brought to book.Shri Virbhadra Singh said that in his long political career he had seen that before elections, few politicians make lot of promises and claim to contest elections on ethical grounds, but when the elections comes, they resort to tactics and forget morality and values, adding that such opportunists want to seek people mandate by hook or crook thereby derailing themselves from political ethics.He said that Himachal progressed a lot and it was due to the efforts of former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi and first Chief Minister of State, Dr. Y.S. Parmar that Himachal became the 18 State of Indian Union and got its statehood. Today every household was having electricity connection, water facilities and a house to live in. He said that the government was spending a lot for welfare of the poor and the landless and was providing two Biswas of land in Urban areas and three Biswas of land in rural areas for housing purpose.
Earlier the Chief Minister also addressed a gathering at Kathog in Jawalamukhi constituency and laid the foundation stone of a road from village Jeein to Banah via Kumbhkar-Kaseti including a bridge over Luhand Khad to cost Rs 2.32 crore, which was a long pending demand of the people of the area from last 15 years. The Chief Minister said that he was aware of the problems of the people of the area and the dilly-dallying tactics of few, who kept befooling and making false promises to the people regarding the construction of approach road and the bridge over the Luhand Khud for the last many years. He directed the PWD authorities to complete the work on the bridge and the road within stipulated time frame. Shri Virbhadra Singh later inaugurated 33 KV sub station at Bharoli-Jadid in tehsil Rakkar, Jaswan Pragpur constituency, completed with a cost of Rs 3.58 crore. It will benefit population of 30,000 thousand of 78 villages of 16 Panchayats in Pir-Saluhi, Rakkar, Sard-dogri and the surrounding areas and provide uninterrupted power supply, besides solving low voltage problem of the area.The Chief Minister also inaugurated a bridge over Balahar (Arlu) in Dehra assembly segment, completed with an outlay of Rs 64.57 lakh, inaugurated a bridge over Sihun rivulet, in Dehra constituency, completed with a cost of Rs 1.07 crore and also inaugurated a bridge over Garli rivulet, in Jaswan constituency, completed with an outlay of Rs 51.30 lakh, under NABARD.
He also visited National Sanskrit Institute (Deemed University) at Balahar in Dehra assembly segment, where he was accorded warm welcome by the principal Prof. Laxmi Nivas Pandey and the staff and students of the institute. While speaking on the occasion he said that he was informed that the Institute sans hostel facility and assured that the government would find the possibility of constructing two separate hostels for boys and girls in the campus.
Shri Virbhadra Singh also inaugurated Tehsil Welfare Office at Rakkar in Jaswan-Pragpur assembly segment.Chairman, HP Workers Welfare Board, Shri Surinder Mankotia welcomed and thanked the Chief Minister for dedicating development projects in Jaswan Pragpur constituency. He credited the development of the area to the successive Congress government headed by Shri Virbhadra Singh for maximum time.Pradhan,Gram Panchayat, Rakkar, Shri Rattan Chand Rathour also welcomed the Chief Minister and demanded 30 bed capacity for PHC, Rakkar and also demanded government degree college to be opened at Rakkar.MLA, Jawalamukhi, Shri Sanjay Rattan, Vice-Chairman HP State Freedom Fighters Welfare Board, Pandit Sushil Rattan, President, Chairman, State Education Board, Shri Balbir Tegta, Ex-MLA, Shri Yog Raj Sharma, Brigadier Rajinder Rana from Dehra, President, Jaswan-Pragpur Block Congress Committee, Shri Pradeep Kumar, President, Jaswan-Pragpur Mahila Block Congress Committee, Smt. Pushpa Minhas, Secretary, Jaswan-Pragpur Block Congress Committee, Shri Rakesh Thakur, representatives of various nearby panchayats of the area were also present on the occasion amongst others.