HIMACHAL PRADESH

Till date, over one lakh kilogram plastics have been purchased under this scheme from the consumers, he said.

Thakur said that the has also banned use of plastics and thermocol cutlery as this is a major source of Environment hazards. The government is promoting the use of patals and plates made from papers.

The Chief Minister said that NGOs and other voluntary organizations should also come forward to check environmental pollution and maintain cleanliness in the state.

Thakur also provided 70 plastic shredders machines to the Urban Local Bodies and municipalities of the State. These machines would help the municipalities in scientific disposal of wastes, he said.

The Chief Minister also administered oath to the people regarding environment conservation on the occasion.

Several scary incidents of cloudbursts, landslides and flashfloods, fuelled by the third day of torrential rain, were witnessed in Himachal on Monday. The has pegged its losses at around Rs 4,000 crore even as the death toll has reached 17.

There has been widespread damage to roads, power transformers, electric sub-stations and water supply schemes. The loss, as per an initial estimate, is in the range of Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

The Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur thanked the Central Government for granting approval for the ambitious projects.

During his recent two days visit to Delhi, Thakur had raised the issue for according approval to these projects with Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.

The Chief Minister said that these projects would go a long way in providing better connectivity facility to the people of the state besides improving the quality of roads. Roads are the lifeline of hilly areas and are vital for the development agenda and make a crucial contribution to and Growth, he said.

Giving details of the projects, Thakur said that these projects include R. 16.62 crore 80 meter span bridge over Markanda river and 27.60 meter span bridge over Khad on Gurudwara Sahib NH-07 to Markanda Nadi in Sirmour district, Rs 22.82 crore 150 meter double lane span bridge with footpath over river Beas at Kothipattan on Dharampur Sandhole road via Seoh langana in district Mandi, Rs 10.07 crore 60 meter span bridge over Markanda river on Moginand to Suketi road in Sirmour district, project worth Rs 8.39 crore for improvement, widening and strengthening of Ara chowk to Jourbar road in Kangra district, Rs 14.60 crore for preliminary project report for 85 meter span double lane pre-bridge with footpath over Beas at Thalout in Mandi district and Rs 21.03 crore for widening and strengthening of Parour Dheera Naura road upto Purba road in Kangra.

The excise policy for 2021-22 envisaging the collection of Rs 1,829 crore, which is Rs 228 crore higher than the previous year, was approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur here today. The new policy will help in increasing collections by almost 14 per cent over the last year.

The Cabinet also approved the setting up of excise Police in the Excise and Department to check inter-state and intra-state smuggling and illicit trade of liquor and bootlegging.

The excise year 2020-21 has been extended by one month up to June 30 considering the situation arising out of Covid. As such, the new excise policy will be operational for nine months from July 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. The Cabinet also approved the renewal of retail excise vends for 2021-22 at a fee of 3 per cent of the value of the unit/vend.

The Himachal Pradesh government will soon launch a new scheme, Mukhyamantri Vidhwa Evam Ekal Nari Awas Yojna, to provide financial assistance to widows and single Women for the construction of houses.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu said the government would provide Rs 1.5 lakh financial assistance to nearly 7,000 women in this fiscal.

To avail benefits, the eligible women must have an annual income of less than Rs 2 lakh. The Women and Child Development Department is finalising modalities of the scheme.

With the financial assistance under this scheme, the women will now be able to construct their own homes, which will not only provide them with a safe and secure living space but also a sense of ownership and Empowerment of women.

Himachal Pradeshchief ministerSukhvinder Singh Sukhuon Sunday reviewed the progress of various ongoingnational highway(NH) projects in the state focusing on resolving issues related to land compensation, clearances of FRA (Forest Rights Act) and FCA (Forest conservation Act) and other bottlenecks of the projects.
He directed the officers to expedite the FRA-FCA clearance cases, by monitoring the cases every 15 days. He said that a follow-up review meeting would be held on March 27 to assess the progress made in these matters.

He said that as the roads are the lifeline of Himachal Pradesh, the has been working diligently to ensure the timely completion of NH projects. The state government’s efforts to expedite the land compensation and other clearances process would facilitate smoother implementation of the projects and provide better road connectivity to the people as well as tourists visiting the state, he said.

He also reviewed the progress of the Shimla-Mataur Road, Pathankot-Mandi road, Shimla bypass and Pinjor-Baddi-Nalagarh road and gave necessary directions to accelerate these projects.

He said that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Bihru-Lathiani road worth Rs 900 crore was submitted to the Union Government on February 20 and the project is expected to be approved by March 31. This road development project is set to improve the connectivity in the area, and provide a major boost to the transportation sector, he added.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai RamThakurdedicated the first drone pilot school of the state established at ITI Shahpur ofKangradistrict on Saturday. On the occasion he said drones were a new dimension of modern era technology that could be easily controlled by any person and also be used for daily tasks.

Thakur said drone was an innovative technology that could be highly useful for keeping vigil on crops, besides being used for spraying of pesticides and insecticides. He said even Prime MinisterNarendra Modihad requested the state governments to promote drone technology in a big way.

He added that the drone technology was being used to demarcate land and prepare documents of populated areas in the state.

Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in a meeting with Union Minister of Power, New and , R.K Singh urged the Union Minister to enhance the State’s share in the power projects which were commissioned 25 years back and have completed their loan repayments. He said that state share must be enhanced from 12 to 15 percent.

The Union Minister was apprised that around 12000 MW of hydropower potential in the State was yet to be harnessed. He said the has now relaxed the rules and procedures for the investors and Deputy Commissioners have been empowered to accord permission. The state government is committed to accord all necessary permissions in a time-bound manner especially in Energy sector and to ease the process for applying.

Having studied the Covid-19 outbreak along with other pandemics in India, the IIT-Mandi has recommended extra precaution at places with huge international arrivals and in North India during winter months.

During research, they have identified states with a high Probability of being the first hotspots for the spread of Covid-19. According to the study conducted in 640 districts from April 1 to December 25, 2020, the hotspots of the pandemic in India have been states with high international Migration and districts located close to large water bodies.

The research was led by Dr Sarita Azad, Associate Professor, School of Basic Science, IIT-Mandi, and co-authored by Neeraj Poonia, research scholar, IIT-Mandi.