Himachal seeks special package from Centre

SHIMLA: Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Monday requested the Centre for a special financial package for Himachal Pradesh during the 12th Plan in view of the unrealistic and gross under estimation of the state’s liabilities by the 13th Finance Commission.
Speaking at the regional level consultation on the 12th Plan approach paper convened by the Planning Commission in New Delhi, he said that the norms for cost of infrastructural development and social sector projects and schemes should also be increased due to topographical considerations.“The size of the 11th Plan should also be doubled keeping in view the prevalent rate of inflation”, he added.
Asserting that the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission on the state’s finances threatened to derail the entire planning process and jeopradise the impressive gains made by the governments over the years, he said that it had provisioned an increase of only 50 per cent over the 12th Finance Commission award for the state, while giving an average increase of 126 per cent to all other states.
The chief minister requested for a time bound road map for tapping the hydro power potential of the state during the 12th plan. “Harnessing this power potential is the top priority of the state government during the 12th Plan period and we seek support on critical issues like environmental clearance in this sector,” he said.
He added, “The tourism infrastructure in the state needed to be developed and for this the construction of an international airport near Shimla is a must to strengthen the civil aviation infrastructure. And the helicopter services in the western Himalayan state needed to be subsidized.”
On the railway network, he said that there was need for adequate budget provision for the targeted completion of the on-going railway projects in Himachal Pradesh during the 12th Five Year Plan as there had been very slow progress in the development of railway infrastructure in the state since independence.
Dhumal also asked the centre to declare the Bilaspur-Leh railway line as a project of national importance and also resolve the issue of cost sharing for the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri railway line at the earliest. “The hill states are relatively more vulnerable to natural calamities, for which we also seek increased allocation for calamity relief and liberal funding for creating and upgrading strategic infrastructure in border areas”, he said.