76th Himachal Day: CM Sukhu announces Rs 1,500 monthly pension for Spiti women
shimla: Wooing the hearts of the Spitians on the occasion of the 76th ‘Himachal Day’ function held at Kaza for the first time after the creation of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu announced Rs 1,500 monthly pension benefits for all women in the age group of 18 to 60 years. This will benefit 9,000 women in Spiti. Till now, the government had only granted this benefit to 2.31 lakh women of the state first-phase of scheme’s implementation in a phased manner.
This is one of the election promises which the Congress had made with the people.
The chief minister made this announcement during his speech at Kaza. He drew a clear distinction that while women in the rest of the state will get Rs 1,500 per month benefits in a phased manner, those in Spiti will not be allowed to wait anymore.They will start getting the amount from June 1, 2023. “This is a special gesture for the women in Spiti because the Himachal Day function is being held here for the first time and women of Spiti lead a very tough life living close to the international borders with China at a height of 12,470 feet,” he said.
After unfurling the Tricolour, Sukhu conveyed his greetings to the people of the state and expressed his gratitude to Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar, the first Chief Minister of Himachal, and all those who worked tirelessly for the special recognition and separate status for Himachal Pradesh.
The CM also announced release of three per cent Dearness Allowance (DA) for all the employees and pensioners of the state thus raising it from existing 31 per cent to 34 per cent. The decision would benefit around 2.15 lakh employees and 1.90 lakh pensioners. This would put an additional burden of about Rs. 500 crore on the state’s exchequer, he said.
He announced the opening of a degree college at Kaza and upgraded the 50-bedded Community Health Centre (CHC) in Kaza.
He said the government would take up the issue of developing an airstrip at Rangrik in Spiti Valley with the Defence Ministry. Besides being important from a strategic point of view this will also help in boosting tourism activities.
Additionally, the government would also prioritise the construction of a road to connect Bhawa with Mud, which will be the world’s highest altitude road. He said that a star-gazing observatory would be set up in the Fossil Village Langza, which is a paradise for stargazers with the assistance of the Union government.
The land has been identified for setting up Rajiv Gandhi Day-Boarding School at Shego near Kaza, which would prove to be a significant development in the education sector, he said.
The Chief Minister said that the government has established the Chief Minister’s Sukh-Ashray Kosh with an initial provision of Rs 101 crore to provide support to orphan children. The government has adopted around 6,000 orphan children as ‘Children of the State’ under the Yojna.
He said that the government has brought 1.36 lakh government employees under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) thus fulfilling its promise of restoring the OPS.
Under Widow and Ekal Nari Awas Yojana, 7000 such women would be given financial assistance to construct houses in this fiscal. Besides, The Land Holding Ceiling Act, 1972 has been amended to provide equal rights to daughters in property ownership of ancestral property, he added.
The Chief Minister said that the government aims to make the state self-reliant and strengthen its economy through new initiatives. The state has set a target to become a green energy state by March 2026 and the government has entered into an agreement for the Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Project, which will create over 3500 employment opportunities and attract an investment of over Rs 4,000 crore.
The state has declared 6 green corridors, providing facilities for electric vehicles. Private operators purchasing electric buses, trucks, taxis, autos and e-goods carriers would be given 50 percent subsidy in order to promote the use of electric vehicles, said Sukhu.
The Chief Minister said the state government is focusing on the development of tourism. Since, Kangra is being developed as the “Tourism Capital” of the state, and the construction of the airport in Kangra is vital for expanding tourism.
In addition, heliports were being built and expanded to connect all district headquarters by air connectivity throughout the year.
Earlier, the Chief Minister saluted the contingents of Police, Home guards, traffic police, Jawans of IRB, NCC cadets, ITBP, Bharat Scouts & Guides led by parade commander Amit Yadav (IPS) during an impressive march past.
A colourful cultural program was also presented on the occasion and the Chief Minister also distributed prizes to the participants of the cultural program and the Government employees of Lahaul & Spiti district for their outstanding contribution in service.
