Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presided over the 54th Statehood Day function at Dharampur in Mandi district on Thursday.

He remembered the immense contributions of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the state’s first Chief Minister Dr Y S Parmar in attaining statehood status for Himachal Pradesh.

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The Chief Minister unfurled the National Flag and received a salute from the police, Home Guards, Traffic Police, NCC and NSS cadets, Scouts and Guides, Ex-serviceman, and Police Band in a commendable march past led by Parade Commander IPS (Probationer) Gauravjeet Singh.

The Chief Minister said that Statehood Day was being celebrated in the Dharampur Sub-division of the Mandi district for the first time and announced a sum of Rs 20,000 each for the 200 Mahila Mandals in the Dharampur area.

Sukhu also announced to set up a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) office at Dharampur and Nagar Panchayats at Dharmapur and Sandhole. He also allocated Rs 10 crore each for the development of Sandhole via Marhi Dharampur road and Sandhole via Syoh Dharampur road, Rs 3 crore for the beautification of Baba Kamlahiya Temple, Rs 1.50 crore for the CHC building in Tihra, Rs 1.50 crore, and Rs 1 crore for the combined office building at Sandhole and Dharampur, respectively. Besides, a Rs 1.50 crore multipurpose hall at the Government Degree College Dharampur and Rs 50 lakh each for civil hospitals in Dharampur and Sandhole were also announced.

The Chief Minister also announced to build a basketball sports hostel for girls at Government Degree College (GDC) Sarkaghat. He also promised Rs 24.80 crore for channelisation of various khads (pits) in the area, PG classes in Zoology at GDC Sarkaghat and PG classes in English, Economics and Hindi in GDC Dharampur. While addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that we are indebted to the stalwarts who have led Himachal Pradesh to zenith amongst all the hilly states.

“In the ongoing journey of development, the state government was working tirelessly to serve the people, ensuring relief and development to reach every section of the society,” Sukhu said.

He said that the government aims to establish 6 green corridors by March-end this year and set up e-charging stations for tourists and locals.

“In February, 13 charging stations will be operational and there are plans to set up a total of 108 stations at identified petrol pumps within the next two months,” he said, adding that the Kiratpur-Keylong Green Corridor is already operational, featuring 5 e-charging stations in addition to 3 such stations set up between Shimla and Bilaspur.

Talking about the new initiatives, he said that the state government has introduced the ‘Sarkar Gaon Ke Dwar’ programme to connect with the public, focusing on resolving public grievances.

Over 65,000 mutation and 4,071 partition cases have been settled through ‘Revenue Lok Adalats’ organised at sub-tehsil and tehsil levels since October 30, 2023, providing relief to many, he added.

The government has also decided to purchase the electricity generated from these projects for the next 25 years, which would ensure the youth a reliable source of income.

He also emphasised the state government’s commitment to achieving uniform and rapid development, with a special focus on the Mandi district.

The Chief Minister said that the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme has benefited 1.36 lakh government employees and as a result, 1,150 pensioners in Mandi, who were earlier covered under NPS, are now availing benefits of OPS.