Aiming to get political mileage in upcoming assembly elections, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday announced sops for people of the state on Himachal Day which are being termed as the effect of AAP’s entry into the political arena.

Addressing the 75th Himachal Day function at Chowgan in Chamba district, he announced a 50 percent discount on traveling in HRTC buses for women with this the women would get a benefit of about Rs 60 crore.

He announced that all consumers up to 125 units would get zero bills from 1st July and no electricity bill would be charged from them. The decision will benefit about 11.5 lakh consumers and would cost the government exchequer about Rs 250 crores. He also announced that no water bill would be charged to all the families living in rural areas and this would provide financial benefits of Rs 30 crore to all our rural families in the State.

The Chief Minister also paid his respect to the freedom fighters, the founder and first Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar, all the former CMs of the state who led the state on the path of progress.

He also paid his respect to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for granting industrial packages to the state during his tenure as Prime Minister of the country. He said Atal Tunnel Rohtang was also a vision of Atal Behari Vajpayee which was realized by PM Modi and this Rs 3500 crore tunnel has provided all-weather connectivity to the land-locked Lahaul valley.

Thakur said the state also faced hard times due to the Corona pandemic but with the wholehearted support of the people, Himachal was able to control the situation and also simultaneously maintained the pace of development. The state government was getting the full support of the Center government in the matter of development. PM Modi has a special attachment towards Himachal and under his leadership, the state has got projects worth thousands of crores.

The state government has focused on bringing positive changes in the lives of the people and ensuring rapid and balanced development of the state. The government in its very first Cabinet meeting reduced the age criteria for providing old-age pension from 80 years to 70 years without any income limit, which has now further been reduced to 60 years. Rs 436 crore were being spent on social security pension whereas today more than Rs 1300 crore are being spent on it.

The state government took the unique initiative of hosting Jan Manch for redressal of the grievances of the people of the state at their doorstep. And to date, 25 Jan Manch have been organized at 244 places and out of 54,565 complaints received, more than ninety percent have been resolved. ‘Mukhya Mantri Seva Sankalp Helpline-1100’ was launched through which a person can register his complaint from any corner to get his issues redressed within a stipulated time period. So far, about 3.55 lakh complaints have been received on this helpline number, out of which 3.41 lakh complaints have been settled, he added.

He also detailed about Mukhya Mantri Grihini Suvidha Yojna, Himcare, Sahara Yojna, Mukhya Mantri Swavalamban Yojna which were benefitting the people.

Thakur said ‘Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojna’ has proved effective in giving a new dimension to the agriculture sector in the state as more than 1.68 lakh progressive farmers have adopted this scheme. It was for the first time that a mega Global Investors Meet was organized in Dharamshala in November 2019 in which 703 MoUs with an investment of Rs 96,721 crore were signed. The groundbreaking of 240 projects amounting to Rs 13,656 crore was held at Shimla and a second such groundbreaking ceremony was performed by the PM at Mandi on 27th December 2021 on the occasion of the completion of four year’s tenure of the state government in which 287 projects worth Rs 28,197 crore were grounded.

In order to encourage the tourism sector in the state, Rs 200 crore were being spent under the ‘Nai Rahein-Nai Manzilien’ scheme to develop various tourist destinations in the state, and the wages of various categories of workers had also been increased, he added.

The CM presented the Civil Services Award, Prerana Sarotra Award-2022, and State Innovation Awards-2022 on the occasion.

The message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also telecasted on the occasion in which he appreciated the developmental journey of the state, despite geographical and other constraints. He said that the state over these years has made tremendous progress in various sectors such as power, horticulture, tourism, and allied sectors.

The Prime Minister also appreciated the efforts being made by the state government under the able leadership of the CM and said that with the honest leadership in form of Thakur and hardworking people, Himachal was poised to emerge as the most developed state of the country.

Thakur also thanked the PM for his message to the people of the state on this historic day and said that it was for the first time that a PM has greeted the people on this historic occasion.