Himachal Government to Pay Rs 800 Crore to SJVN to Take Back Dhaulasidh Project: CM Sukhu.
Shimla:
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said that the Himachal Pradesh government will take back the Dhaulasidh Hydroelectric Project from SJVN Limited by paying Rs 800 crore, asserting that the state government will protect the state’s rights and will not compromise on them.
Sukhu made the statement while addressing a public gathering in Nadaun Assembly constituency after laying the foundation stone of the Rs 31.19-crore Sadhoorapattan Bridge over the Beas River.
The 250-metre-long double-lane motorable bridge, which will also have a pedestrian footpath, will connect Dobar Kalan village in Nadaun with Silah village in the Jwalamukhi area of Kangra district. According to the Chief Minister, the project will benefit more than 30,000 people living across 15 gram panchayats in Nadaun and Jwalamukhi, besides residents of the Sujanpur area.
Sukhu said the bridge would fulfil a long-standing demand of residents and improve connectivity between Nadaun and Jwalamukhi by reducing travel time and distance. He added that better connectivity would facilitate the movement of people and goods and contribute to social and economic development in the region.
Rs 450 Crore Allocated for Hamirpur Medical College
The Chief Minister also addressed the issue of the under-construction Hamirpur Medical College, rejecting claims made by Hamirpur MP Anurag Singh Thakur regarding the project.
Sukhu said the medical college was approved during the tenure of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, with the notification issued on January 22, 2014, and Rs 180 crore approved by the Central Government at that time.
He said forest clearance for the medical college was secured during his tenure as MLA and claimed that the state government had allocated Rs 450 crore from its own budget for the project. He said the medical college would be completed and made operational within two months, providing improved healthcare facilities to people of the region.
According to Sukhu, the first cancer institute in North India is also being established at the medical college with Japanese support at an estimated cost of around Rs 500 crore. Another Rs 150 crore has been allocated for a super-speciality block, with work expected to begin soon.
Focus on Public Healthcare
The Chief Minister said the state government was strengthening healthcare infrastructure across Himachal Pradesh. Diagnostic facilities were being upgraded at medical colleges, while automated laboratories on the lines of AIIMS Delhi were being established at a cost of around Rs 28 crore each.
He said the laboratories would have the capacity to conduct up to 1,200 tests from a single sample.
Kangra Tourism Capital, Hamirpur Education Capital
Sukhu said the government was developing Kangra as the state’s Tourism Capital and Hamirpur as its Education Capital.
An Allied Healthcare College is being established in Nadaun, while Himachal Pradesh’s first Science College is being set up in Hamirpur with an allocation of Rs 100 crore. A Centre of Excellence for Sports is also being established in Nadaun to promote sports tourism and is scheduled for inauguration in October.
He said a Sukh Ashray complex was being constructed at Luthan in Jwalamukhi at a cost of Rs 150 crore. A Rs 400-crore riverfront project is also being developed along the Beas River in Nadaun, where Beas Aarti will be introduced. Another bridge near Amtar is expected to be constructed soon, while work is underway to convert roads across the district into double-lane roads.
Relief for Disaster-Affected Families
Sukhu accused the previous BJP government of neglecting Hamirpur and alleged that state resources had been misused under various schemes.
Referring to the natural disaster, he said more than 23,000 houses had been completely damaged and that the state government had increased financial assistance for affected families from Rs 1.50 lakh to Rs 8.50 lakh using its own resources.
He said the idea of providing a minimum support price for naturally produced turmeric originated in Nadaun. The government subsequently launched the Rajiv Gandhi Prakritik Kheti Yojna, under which naturally farmed products are being provided support prices.
The Chief Minister said cow milk was being procured at Rs 61 per litre and buffalo milk at Rs 71 per litre, with payments transferred directly to livestock farmers’ bank accounts. A state-of-the-art milk processing plant is being established at Dhagwar at a cost of Rs 300 crore and is expected to become operational by the end of the year.
Sukhu also alleged that BJP leaders had attempted to destabilise the elected state government, but claimed that people had supported the government.
He announced Rs 2 crore for construction of a Panchayat Bhawan and Community Centre in the local panchayat.
Jwalamukhi MLA Welcomes Bridge Project
Jwalamukhi MLA Sanjay Rattan described the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Sadhoorapattan Bridge as a historic occasion for the Nadaun and Jwalamukhi constituencies. He said the bridge fulfilled a long-standing demand that had remained pending under successive governments.
Rattan thanked the Chief Minister and said the bridge would serve as an important link between the two areas, benefiting residents of Nadaun, Jwalamukhi and Sujanpur.
MLA Kamlesh Thakur, HPBOCWWB Chairman Nardev Singh Kanwar, OBC Vice-Chairman Dr Mohan Lal, Mandal President Captain Prithvi Chand and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
