The budget session of the fifth session of the 14th Himachal Pradesh Assembly commenced with the address of Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla in Shimla on Wednesday.

In his address, the Governor said that his government has successfully completed one year of Vyavastha Parivartan (change in governance) and he is confident that the government will serve the state with more dedication, strength and commitment.

The Governor’s address emphasised the goal of making Himachal a green state by 2026 and highlighted the Rs 680 crore Rajiv Gandhi Startup Scheme. However, the figures of employment provided by the Sukhu government in the government and private sector during the last one-and-a-quarter year were missing in the Governor’s address.

“The government has initiated work on a large scale to make electric vehicles the first choice for transportation to make Himachal the first green energy state of the country by 2026. Under this, six green corridors are being developed in the state and 106 public places have been identified for setting up a wide network of electric vehicle charging stations,” he said.

The Governor further said that to provide self-employment opportunities and encourage entrepreneurship, his government has launched the e-taxi scheme under the transport department under the Rs 680-crore Rajiv Gandhi Self-Employment Scheme, 2023.

Under this, a 50 per cent subsidy is being given on purchasing e-taxis and these e-taxis will be taken on contract by government departments for at least four years, he said.

“Solar energy is being encouraged and for this 93 MW solar power projects in the state have completed formalities. It will be installed by the end of this year,” Shukla said.

The government disbanded the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission, Hamirpur, on 21 February 2023 due to irregularities in recruitment examinations. In its place, Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Ayog was established on 30 September to restore public trust in the recruitment process.

In his address, the Governor also mentioned about the natural disaster that occurred in the state last year and the government’s announcement regarding a Special Relief Package of Rs 4,500 crore, which is the first of its kind in the country to provide relief to the victims of this disaster.

He also said that the election manifesto of the Congress party has been declared a policy document and that all the promises made to the people of the state will be fulfilled in a phased manner and lack of funds will not come in the way of development works.

He said that the government has started multi-dimensional changes to bring the economic situation of the state back on track.

Referring to the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Ashray Yojana, the Governor said that under this scheme 4,121 children of the state have been declared eligible and till now an amount of more than Rs 7.65 crore has been spent on them.

“The government is developing Kangra district as a tourism capital and Rs 3,000 crore will be spent on the development of tourism infrastructure here,” he said.

He said that milk production is being promoted by making a provision of Rs 500 crore under the Him Ganga Scheme and a world-class milk processing plant will be set up at Dagwar in Kangra district at a cost of Rs 250 crore.

He further stated that Special Revenue Lok Adalats to settle pending revenue cases have been started and under this, 95,120 cases of partition and mutation cases have been settled so far.

The Governor said that the state government has started new schemes with honest efforts in a period of one year and has given impetus to the development of the state.

“The government has taken effective steps to ensure equal development of all areas and welfare of all sections. Efforts are being made to reach out to the last person in the society whose voice does not easily reach the top,” he said.

The empowerment of these sections of the society is the main objective of my government, he added.

“Despite all the challenges, my government has set a target to become economically self-reliant in the next four years and to be included among the most prosperous states of the country in 10 years. I have full confidence that all the members of the House will continue to serve the people of the state with dedication and Himachal will definitely achieve this goal with the collective efforts of its youth, strong intentions and honest and hardworking people of the state,” the Governor said.