Shimla, February 14 – Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Saturday that the state government is providing a support price for milk and will soon also provide a minimum support price (MSP) for ginger.
Within a year, the Sarahan hospital will have specialist doctors and an ultrasound machine. He also announced the opening of a CBSE school in Sarahan and the doubling of the Sarahan-Chandigarh road.
Addressing a public gathering in Sarahan, he promised to fulfill the demands of local Congress leader Dayal Pyari and former Assembly Speaker Gangu Ram Musafir.
Referring to the 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. The current government is following his example.
He said that the state has been receiving the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) since Dr Parmar's time, but the 16th Finance Commission has taken away this right.
"The RDG belongs to the people of Himachal, not the government."
The Chief Minister said that 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.
