Himachal Pradesh CM Meets Shah, Sitharaman In Delhi

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday met Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here and raised various demands such as an increase in import duty on apple to benefit apple growers of his state. He said that apple from other countries is coming into Indian market and affecting the apple economy of the state. He also requested Sitharaman for extending the Industrial Development Subsidy Scheme, which is scheduled to end this year, for two more years, according to an official statement. The chief minister also requested for special central assistance for the construction of Mandi airport. He also requested for enhanced central special assistance to his state. He apprised the finance minister of the focus on women empowerment schemes in the state budget for 2022-23. In his meeting with Shah, Thakur requested him to declare Trans-Giri area of Sirmour district as tribal area and Hatti community as Scheduled Tribe.

The chief minister said the adjoining area of Jaunsar in Uttarakhand has already been declared as tribal area. He said that declaring Trans-Giri of Sirmour district as tribal area is a very genuine demand of the people of the area. About three lakh people living in 144 panchayats will benefit from it, the statement said. He said that this would not only ensure additional and special budget for this area, but also meet the long-pending demand of the people. The statement said the chief minister also discussed various development schemes going on in the state and thanked the Centre for all the support. He also highlighted about welfare-centric schemes proposed in the budget. Thakur later met Power Minister R K Singh and apprised him that Himachal Pradesh is heading towards becoming a green state soon. He urged for cooperation of the ministry for clearing the thermal power commitments of the state. Thakur said that at present the state is using only 2,000 MW of thermal power and the rest is green energy. 

Thakur said if the state receives needed cooperation then it will produce cent per cent green energy and will be the first state of the country to achieve this, according to the statement. He added that this will provide competitive edge in the market as green products are very much in demand. He also apprised him about pending issues with Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and requested him to resolve them soon. Singh assured the chief minister of his ministry's full cooperation. 

PTI Inputs