Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Wednesday lauded the state government for starting schemes for welfare of all sections of the society.

While delivering inaugural address at the start of budget session of HP Vidhan Sabha, Arlekar said the g0vernment made efforts to modernise health infrastructure in the state during the Covid pandemic.

The efforts resulted in setting up of 48 PSA plants as compared to 2 earlier and procurement of 1014 function ventilators in the various hospitals as compared to 52 available earlier.

The state government has also set up three makeshift hospitals during Covid pandemic to provide timely healthcare facilities to patients.

Similarly, the availability of ICU beds has been increased from 52 to 557 and now, 17,000 oxygen cylinders and concentrators are available in the state. 870 seats of MBBS, 309 seats at postgraduate level in various specializations and 95 seats for MDS have been filled in various government and private colleges to meet the shortage of doctors.

He also lauded the state for achieving the target of Covid vaccination both for 1st dose and second and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had himself appreciated the efforts of the government and Corona warriors in this regard.

He made special mention of CM Helpline 1100 which was helpful in resolving grievances of the people besides providing health and treatment related information to Covid -19 patients and assistance to citizens struck in emergency situations.

The Governor acknowledged the difficulties faced by students and teachers during the pandemic and said the government started ‘Har Ghar Pathshala’ programme for online education and achievements were shared with their parents through e-PTM.

He lauded the role of Angnwadi and Asha workers in the fight against Covid pandemic and said the government enhanced their honorarium to recognise their contribution.

The government provided free health services in the remote areas under Ayushman Bharat Yojana and golden cards have been issued to 4.25 lakh households and free medical assistance offered to 143.17 crore has been provided to 1.23 lakh beneficiaries.

Under Himcare, 5.13 lakh households were issued health cards and free medical facilities worth Rs 201 crore were provided to 2.27 lakh beneficiaries till Jan 2022.

The government also provided assistance of Rs 61 crore to 18,218 patients suffering from serious diseases under the Sahara Yojna.

Krishi Utpaad Sarankshan Yojana has been started to establish permanent structures made of steel and bamboo for installation of anti-hail nets and reduce damage caused to orchards by hailstorms.

The government is committed towards Gauseva and cow sanctuaries are being set up in the state to cater to stray cattle. Besides, sheep breeding farms at Tal in Hamirpur district and Jeori in Shimla district and cow breeding farms at Palampur, Kangra district and Bagthan in Sirmaur district have been developed as fodder production centers by spending an amount of Rupees 3 crore.

Presently, 548 fruit nurseries are registered in the state and 150 new fruit nurseries and 158 bud-wood banks have been registered in the current financial year.

An amount of about Rs 11 crore has been allocated under the ‘HP Pushp Kranti Yojana’ and 114 farmers have benefitted from the scheme.

An additional area of about 58,561 square meters has been brought under polyhouses. Besides, an amount of Rs 5 crore has been allocated under ‘HP Khumb Vikas Yojana’, which has assisted 64,269 mushroom growers to set up production units.

For the sustainable development of horticulture, the government is emphasizing on increasing productivity by importing improved fruit varieties and clonal rootstock. Under the World Bank funded HP Horticulture Development Project, 9,09,527 grafted plants and clonal rootstocks have been imported from the USA.

The project’s progress has also been appreciated by the World Bank.

Presently, horticulture contributes more than about Rs 4,000 crore to the state’s GDP and an additional area of about 1,932 hectare will be brought under various fruit crops in this financial year.

PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana is playing a significant role in the overall development of horticulture in the state and in the current financial year, drip and sprinkler irrigation system is being installed in an additional area of 2,927 hectares.

In addition, the Plant Protection programme is being run for pest protection of fruit plants and farmers are being provided 50 per cent assistance for purchase of pesticides.

The state government is also providing financial assistance of Rs 4,500 to the 4,208 fishermen under livelihood and nutritional support for families and conservation of fish resources during fishing ban or lean period.

Himachal has secured second position in the category of North-Eastern and hilly States of the country in implementation of urban employment scheme which helped the workers in the towns to get the guaranteed employment

On the analogy of MNREGA in the rural areas during the Covid pandemic, the government started a livelihood scheme for poor residing in urban areas.

The government is also playing a leading role in realizing the dream of providing tap water to every household under the ambitious scheme Jal Jeevan Mission and so far, 17,28,000 families have been provided with the facility, he added.