Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that all the announcements and commitments made by him to the people of the State should be completed by 20 February of this year so that fruits of development could be percolated down to the targeted groups and needy people.He was presiding over the meeting with the administrative secretaries and heads of department held here today to review physical and financial progress of various schemes launched by the state government.The Chief Minister said that the concerned departments must ensure that the new schemes announced in the budget regarding their departments must be taken in hand and implemented in the stipulated time period. The proactive approach was vital for effective implementation of the developmental schemes. He said that it becomes our duty to come up to the expectations of the common man.He said that the state government in the budget 2018-19 announced thirty new schemes and several other initiatives. Although some departments have made good progress in implementation of these schemes, but a few need to expedite their efforts to achieve the desired targets.While expressing his displeasure over the slow pace of implementation of a few schemes in education and health sector, he said that the efforts must be made to expedite the process as the casual approach would not be tolerated.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the present government has started various welfare schemes aimed at the upliftment and welfare of all the sections of the society and the officers should give their best for ensuring benefits of these schemes to the people.He said that good progress has been made in implementation of quite a few schemes. The Grihini Suvidha Yojna has been a success as the State is poised to become the first State in the country to become smoke-free by April this year with every household having a gas connection. The government has fixed the target to provide 33,264 free gas connections to eligible families during current financial year and it is happy augury that over 35,000 connections have been provided till date.The Chief Minister said that under the Nai Rahein Nai Manzilien scheme, Rs. 50 crore have been allocated for development of unexplored and untapped tourist places of the State. Besides, rupees eight crore have been released for development of trekking routes, camp sites etc. in Chanshal in Shimla district and rupees five crore for renovation of rest house, purchase of adventure sports material, development of trekkers huts etc. in Janjehli area of Mandi district. He said that rupees five crore have been released for landscaping, creation of eco-tourism site at China Top, creation of multi-storied parking etc. at Bir Billing in Kangra district. He said that Larji dam, Pong dam and Kol dam are being developed as a hub for adventurous water sports like sailing, canoeing, rowing, peddle boat, floating jetties and speed boats etc.
He said that the people of the State have great expectations from the officers and employees and they should ensure that policies and programmes must be implemented effectively. The Jan Manch launched has been appreciated even by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under which over 22,000 grievances have been redressed so far.Jai Ram Thakur said that laxity in implementation of schemes of would be viewed seriously and stressed the need to take up the FRA issues at the earliest adding that over 330 cases are in the final stage.He directed the Public Works, Transport and Police Departments to identify black spots on roads and take corrective measures to minimize the accidents. He said that Rs. 50 crore have been earmarked for this purpose and directed the concerned authorities to accelerate the pace of rectifying the spots. He also directed the Transport department to ensure effective implementation of various instructions regarding plying private school buses to ensure the safety of the students.While seeking suggestions for general budget, Jai Ram Thakur urged the general public especially officers to give their valuable suggestions so that it could be made welfare oriented.Additional Chief Secretary Dr. Shrikant Baldi welcomed the Chief Minister and other officers present on the occasion.Special Secretary to the Chief Minister D.C. Rana gave presentation on progress on Chief Minister's announcements. Chief Secretary B.K. Agarwal, Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Additional Principal Secretary, Secretaries, Heads of departments and other senior officers attended the meeting among others.