CM Sukhu announces Rs 1,500 financial assistance for eligible women of Sulah constituency

Shimla, Jan 22 (PTI) Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday announced that all eligible women of the Sulah Legislative Assembly Constituency in Kangra district would be given financial assistance of Rs 1,500 under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samaan Nidhi Yojna.

During his visit to the constituency, Sukhu also announced a series of welfare, development and employment initiatives aimed at strengthening social security, infrastructure and public services in the region.

He said that a Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) division would be opened in Sulah and the Bhawarna town would be upgraded into a Nagar Panchayat.

Addressing the gathering, the chief minister said the state government was making continuous efforts for the overall development of the district. He informed that the expansion of Kangra Airport was underway, and those affected will be given fair compensation for their land.

Sukhu further said that the airport expansion would bring economic prosperity to the region, boost tourism and generate employment opportunities at the local level, ensuring that youth would not be compelled to migrate to metropolitan cities like Delhi or Chandigarh even for small jobs.

Emphasising the government's commitment to employment generation, he said that large-scale recruitment was being undertaken in the public sector, particularly in the police department.

He announced that the state government would soon recruit 800 police constables to strengthen the law enforcement machinery.

Special consideration would be given to youth who returned home after serving under the Agniveer scheme introduced by the Union government, the chief minister said. These youth would be absorbed into the Himachal Pradesh Police and provided stable employment up to the age of 58, along with the benefits of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), he added.

The Agniveer scheme, which limits service tenure to four years, reduced the interest of many young people in Himachal Pradesh in joining the Army, Sukhu said.

"The state government, therefore, decided to ensure long-term job security for such trained youth by providing them an opportunity to serve in the state police. We do not believe in policies that end the future of youth after four years. Our government is committed to providing secure employment and social protection," he said.

Speaking on education reforms, he said that during the previous BJP government, Himachal Pradesh slipped to 21st position in education rankings. "However, due to the sustained efforts of the present government, the state has now reached the fifth position in quality education.” Vacancies for teachers are being filled, English-medium education has been introduced from Class 1, and more than 200 schools are being converted to the CBSE curriculum, Sukhu said.

Launching a sharp attack on the BJP, he said the previous government received nearly Rs 50,000 crore more funds than the present government, but it failed to utilise them properly.

The chief minister said buildings worth Rs 1,000 crore were constructed but remain vacant even today, and further alleged that in Baddi, around 5,000 bighas of land, allotted to big industrialists at throwaway prices under customised packages, is causing huge losses to state revenue.

He clarified that the present government was not making any changes to Section 118, which restricts the sale, gift, or transfer of agricultural land in the state to non-agriculturists (outsiders), and that misinformation was being deliberately spread on social media. PTI COR OZ OZ