Himachal Govt's 1st anniversary gift: Rs 1,500 per month for Lahaul & Spiti women from January 1

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, December 11

The Congress rally to mark its one year in power in the state organised at the police ground in here today received rousing response from the people. Thousands of party workers brought from all over of the state in HRTC buses filled the rally venue.

However, Priyanka Gandhi gave rally a miss despite being present in Shimla today. Rajiv Shukla, Congress in-charge for the state, and his deputy Tajinder Bittu were the only leaders from the party high command to attend the rally.

Most of the Congress leaders, who addressed the rally, praised the Chief Minister for implementing the old pension scheme (OPS) for 1.36 lakh government employees. They targeted the Centre for not providing special financial package to the state to deal with the natural disaster.

During the rally, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu said the government had initiated the process to give Rs 1,500 per month to the women in the 18 to 60 age bracket but natural disaster thwarted the move. “I am now declaring that the women in Lahaul and Spiti district would get Rs 1,500 per month and 2.37 lakh women in the state drawing Rs 1,100 pension per month would get Rs 1,500 from the next year,” he added.

The CM had, earlier on Himachal Day on April 15, announced to provide Rs 1,500 to all the 9,000 women of Spiti above 18 years of age from June 2023.

The CM said a plan had been chalked out to purchase cow dung at Rs 2 per kilo and procurement price of milk would be increased from Rs 31 to Rs 37 per litre from January. He said 20,000 jobs would be given in one year.

The CM also announced that in case the people gave them 6 bighas of land for setting up a solar power plant, the state would give Rs 20,000 per month as income.

In the second month of being in power, the State Subordinate Selection Board was scrapped for leaking papers. “When we came to power, we did not have any budget for even daily needs. Every Himachal resident was having a debt of Rs 1,01,000,” he said.

The CM said Himachal will be self-reliant in the next five years and the richest state by 2032. “We earned Rs 500 crore from liquor vend sale whereas the previous governments had earned Rs 180 crore,” he said.

Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri, while addressing the rally, said the BJP was living in a misconception that the Congress government would fall in Himachal. “I want to assure the BJP leaders that present government would complete five years in office. The present government inherited Rs 92,000 crore debt as arrears of employees and loan liabilities. Scams like crypto currency happened during the stint of previous BJP government,” he said.

Shukla blamed the BJP government at the Centre for not helping state in the hour of crisis despite the fact that PM Narendra Modi called Himachal his second home.

HPCC president Pratibha Singh asked the party workers to work hard so that the party could win all four Lok Sabha seats in the state in General Elections scheduled next year. All Cabinet ministers and many MLAs participated in the rally.

Schoolchildren take selfies with CM

• The CM organised a roadshow in the Civil Lines area of Dharamsala where he was welcomed by schoolchildren who clicked selfies with him
• The posters and banners highlighting the government’s achievements in the past one year adorned Dharamsala. People clad in traditional costumes were seen dancing to the tunes of their folk music outside the venue of the rally
• Hundreds of HRTC buses were deployed for bringing in Congress workers from different parts of the state. The people who came to rally were given food packets
• Except Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Pathania, no one mentioned former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at the rally

Cow milk procurement price up Rs 6

• A plan chalked out to purchase cow dung at Rs 2 per kilo. Procurement price of milk to be increased from Rs 31 to Rs 37 per litre from January
• Sukhu announced that in case the people give 6 bighas of land for setting up a solar power plant, the state would give Rs 20,000 per month
• Provisions made to provide government jobs to 20,000 youth in the state, the CM said