Keeping in view the difficult terrain and topography, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has urged the Central government to adopt distinct norms for hilly states while sanctioning projects under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transport (AMRUT) Scheme.

“Projects under the AMRUT Scheme were sanctioned on the basis of population and the current population-based criteria were unsuitable for Himachal Pradesh and needed to be relaxed to take maximum benefit under the Scheme,” Sukhu said during a meeting with Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh on Friday.

He said that the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission should also be reviewed periodically as the cost of projects escalated over time.

“Himachal Pradesh is one of the best-performing states under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (PMAY),” he said, urging for funds to be released for PMAY-2 once the funds under the PMAY-1 were fully utilised.

Urging the Central government to amend the tender policy system by reducing the period from 60 days to 10 days to accelerate the pace of development works, he emphasised the importance of system monitoring and called for a greater focus on it.

The Chief Minister urged the Ministry of Power to allow one MW capacity solar systems with battery backups for border areas like Spiti to mitigate the hardships caused by snow and adverse weather.

He said that Rs 362 crore has been earmarked to ensure uninterrupted power supply in these areas.

It was informed in the meeting that clean cities of Himachal Pradesh may be declared Safai Mitra Surakshit Shehar, which would attract additional funding from the Central government to enhance cleanliness efforts.

Manohar Lal Khattar praised the performance of Himachal Pradesh and assured full support from the Union government.

He said that a proposal to develop a new township at Jathia Devi near Shimla has been received and is currently under process.

Solid waste management plants may be set up in Municipal Corporations because big projects were not feasible in a small state like Himachal Pradesh, he added.

He said that the concept of Sanjha Bazar should be explored in Himachal Pradesh so that Self Help Groups could sell their products at one place to earn their livelihood.

The Union Minister suggested the state increase power production by ensuring maximum utilisation of running water to harness the hydropower.