Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of development works worth Rs 77 crore during his one-day tour to Shahpur assembly constituency of Kangra district today.He laid the foundation stone of Rs. 56.56 crore Sewage Treatment Plant and Augmentation of Drinking Water Scheme Nagar Panchayat Shahpur.
He also laid the foundation stone of a Water Treatment Plant for various Water Supply Schemes at a cost of Rs 13.71 crore in Shahpur area to improve the quality of water.The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone worth Rs 5 crore for replacement of old pumping machinery of various lifted drinking water schemes.
He also performed the foundation stone ceremony of Farmer Facilitation Center Building Shahpur under Crop Diversification Promotion Project-2 at a cost of Rs 50 lakh and inaugurated the additional building of Shahpur Rest House built at a cost of Rs 80 lakh.
Addressing a public meeting at Dussehra ground Shahpur, the Chief Minister said that a milk plant at a cost of Rs 250 crore was being set up in Dhagwar in Kangra district which will go a long way in ensuring the lucrative prices to the farmers in the area.
He said that a provision of Rs. 3,000 crore has been made for the expansion of Kangra Airport and rehabilitation works. He said that the government will make serious efforts to resettle the people to be displaced due to expansion of the airport.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the work on various projects were afoot to develop Kangra district as tourism capital of the State. He said that Zoological Park will be set up in Bankhandi in Dehra area of the district at a cost of Rs 400 crore.
He said that adventure water sports and related activities would be started to promote tourism activities in the Pong Dam area which will go a long way in attracting the tourists to this area. He said that earnest efforts were being made to make Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant State in next four years and one of the prosperous States of the country in next ten years.
The Chief Minister said that former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar is a visionary leader and he has lauded the efforts of the present State Government for tackling the natural disaster effectively. He said that for seeking disaster relief, the state government has sent the estimate of loss of Rs 12 thousand crore to the central government but till date no special package has been provided to the state by the Centre Government.
He alleged that BJP leaders have not raised their voice for seeking grant from the Central Government for relief and rehabilitation works and are merely making hue and cry for the sake of the political gains.He assured the people of the area that the State Government would fulfill their demands in times to come.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presented cheques of assistance for skill development, higher education and house construction to nine orphaned children of Kangra district under the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Ashraya Yojana in Shahpur area.
He provided Rs 5.87 lakh to Pragati of Dharamshala, Rs 4.98 lakh to Sahil Chaudhary of Shahpur, Rs. 2.34 lakh to Vivek of Dharamshala for starting their avocations. Rs 3.15 lakh was also given to Rohit Kumar of Shahpur for construction of a house, He also presented financial assistance to five orphan children Nisha Devi, Anuradha, Palak Choudhary, Sachin and Vidushi for pursuing higher education.
Earlier, Shahpur MLA Kewal Singh Pathania welcomed the Chief Minister and thanked him for providing ten developmental schemes worth about Rs.77 crore in Shahpur Assembly constituency. He expressed his gratitude to the Chief Minister for providing 6 Kanal land for ECHS.
He said that during the tenure of the present government, development in Shahpur Legislative Assembly is progressing by leaps and bounds. Various organizations and individuals also contributed towards Aapda Rahat Kosh and Chief Minister Relief Fund on the occasion.
The family of late R.K. Mahajan donated Rs. two lakh in his memory, IMC and ITI Shahpur Rs. one lakh, Dronacharya College Rait Rs. one lakh, Rajput Sabha Shahpur Rs. 51 thousand, Karan Pintu Rehlu Rs.71 thousand, D.R. Sharma of Shahpur Residential Welfare Association Rs.11 thousand, Yoga Guide Foundation H.P. Rs. 21 thousand, Jitendra, Udayalak Sharma, Ashok Kumar, Ritu and Rajni Devi donated Rs. 21 thousand.
Agriculture Minister Prof. Chander Kumar, Chairman, State Tourism Corporation R.S. Bali, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Kishori Lal, MLAs Sanjay Ratan, Malendra Rajan and Sudhir Sharma, Chairman, Kangra Central Cooperative Bank Kuldeep Pathania, Chairman, State Agricultural Development Bank Sanjay Chauhan, Former MLA Ajay Mahajan and Surinder Kaku, Chairman, Krishi Bank Ram Chand Pathania, District Congress President Karan Pathania, BCC President Surjit Rana and various dignitaries were also present on the occasion.