HIMACHAL PRADESH

Rs25 cr to be spent on improving water supply in Bilaspur

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Providing potable water to people is the priority of the government and over Rs 1,000 crore is being spent on improving the water supply system in the state.

This was stated by Subhash Thakur, MLA, Bilaspur, after laying the foundation stone of water supply schemes worth Rs 25 crore. The MLA performed a bhumi poojan for the Rs 20 crore Bhatoli water supply scheme and Rs 5 crore water supply scheme at Malyawar.

He said the Bhatoli scheme would provide sufficient water to 16 panchayats that were facing the water shortage, especially during summer seasons. He said eight water storage tanks would be constructed and over 2,370 water connections would be installed. He said to improve the water supply in the constituency, over Rs 14 crore was being spent.

Himachal Pradesh first flower mandi comes up at Parwanoo

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The states first flower mandi has been set up at the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) marketing yard, Parwanoo, to facilitate the growers from Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla and Mandi districts.

The agro-climatic conditions offer apt opportunities for the development of floriculture to serve the internal off season market. The potential for exports, however, is yet to be tapped.

Floriculture products like cut flowers, bulbs, seeds, live Plants, etc. can be produced as . Although flowers from different agro climatic zones of the state can be made available all through the year for domestic market, export quality flower produce can be ensured only by cultivation under controlled Environment conditions of greenhouses.

Wages raised to Rss 300 per day in 4 years: Himachal CM

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The has hiked the minimum wages of daily wage workers from Rs 210 to Rs 300 per day in the past four years, said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while presiding over a meeting with the representatives of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) here yesterday.

He said that the government would also ensure that industrial units pay adequate wages to their workers. ASHA and anganwari workers had done excellent work during the Covid pandemic. As a result, Himachal Pradesh emerged as the first state in the country to achieve a target of 100 per cent first dose vaccination. Now, the state was about to achieve 100 per cent vaccination of the eligible Population, he added.

Thakur said the government had enhanced the honorarium for ASHA workers by Rs 1,750 in the past four years, besides enhancing the honorarium of anganwari workers by Rs 2,850 per month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attributed the achievement of attaining 100 per cent first-dose vaccination and zero wastage in Himachal to the tireless efforts of the state government and the blessings of the deities in the Dev Bhoomi.

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He said the state should move forward with the mission of chemical-free Himachal in the next 25 years so that it could become an organic state. I have complete faith in the youth of Himachal, Women and men that they will protect our against chemicals, he said.

He lauded the Jal Jeevan Mission which had ensured tap water supply to every Home. There is immense scope for cultivating medicinal herbs, vegetables and fruits in Himachal and women self-help groups can play a major role in this field, he said. He said an Agri Infrastructure Fund for Rs 1,000 crore had been created which could be availed to set up processing units closer to the fields and orchards.

He said Himachal had given first vaccine to its entire eligible Population and shown that the state is atama nirbhar.

Himachal Pradesh budget levies Rs 10 cow cess on each bottle of liquor

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Himachal CMSukhvinder Singh Sukhupresented theCongressgovernments maidenbudget, headlining it with a cow cess on liquor and a raft of welfare measures.

Presenting the Rs 53,413-crore budget for 2023-24 in the assembly,Sukhustarted his 135-minute speech with a shloka (verse) from theGitaand announced the cow cess of Rs 10 on the sale of each bottle of liquor, which will add up to an additional revenue of Rs 100 crore per annum. The CM also rolled out a pension plan, under which, Women in the state will get Rs 1,500 per month, at a cost of Rs 416 crore per year.

Other highlights of the budget included sops for electric vehicles as part of a larger drive to make HP a green state by 2026. The CM also announced that the Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holding Act, 1972, will be amended and daughters will be considered a separate unit.

World Bank keen for Green Resilient Integrated Development programme for HP: CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

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Thehas indicated that it is keen on the Green Resilient Integrated Development programme for the state with Basin approach with an estimated cost size of Rs 2500 crore (300 Million US dollars) depending upon the technical analyses, which may be enhanced further.

The chief ministerSukhvinder Singh Sukhudiscussed the Green agenda of the state with the World Bank team, headed by its Regional Director (Sustainable Development),South Asia Region,John Roomein Shimla on Monday. He also discussed the measures to be adopted to achieve the target of “Green Energy State” by 2025, with the assistance of the World Bank.

Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that as a step towards achieving the target, the state has fixed a time-bound action plan to achieve installation of 200 MW solar power energy projects in next nine months and the state will acquire more land for the installation of 500 MW by end of the year 2024.

Managing livestock waste in Himachal reduces expensive farm inputs

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Amid the widespread shortage of fertilisers in the ongoing planting season in several states largely owing to spiking international prices, farmers in Himachal Pradesh are using homemade alternatives for cultivation that are not only safer for the Environment but are also boosting their incomes by reducing their dependence on chemicals.

records say 146,438 farmers, including 14,000 apple growers, in the hill state are doing natural farming either partially or fully, over 8,268 hectares.

This means they are not rushing to the market to plant the winter cropsnot hampering their planting season like in neighbouring states Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh where farmers are currently facing a severe shortage of fertilisers.

Middle-aged vegetable grower Raman Saini, a progressive farmer from Haroli in Una district adjoining Punjab, is one of many to benefit from an alternative method of cultivation that saves the Soil from deterioration, boosts his bottom line and importantly without sacrificing much food production.

Earlier, he struggled to market the vegetablesa fact he attributes to overuse of chemical pesticides to control diseases and pests. Even the Soil fertility was deteriorating.

Under the Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana, the technique is based on the farm inputs that are prepared at Home with dung and urine of a ‘desi’ cow, ‘besan’, jaggery and some locally resourced leaves.

Nearly 23% candidates in Himachal Pradesh face criminal charges

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Around 23% of candidates in fray for the November 12 assembly in Himachal Pradesh face criminal cases.

All major parties contesting in Himachal elections have given tickets to 18% to 64% candidates who have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Out of 412 candidates analysed, 201 are from national parties, 67 from state parties, 45 from registered unrecognised parties and 99 are contesting as independents.

Out of the total candidates analysed, 94 have declared criminal cases against themselves. In 2017 assembly elections, out of 338 candidates analysed, 61 (18 per cent) had declared criminal cases against themselves.

Rohru farmers to get Rs10 lakh award for red rice cultivation

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Farmers of the Rohru subdivision in Shimla district will receive the prestigious Plant Genome Saviour Award carrying a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh for their contribution in developing red rice, a rare variety of paddy grown in Himachal Pradesh, said Prof HK Chaudhary, Vice-Chancellor of CSK Himachal Pradesh Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture University here today.

The VC said university scientists had gathered all data and helped the farmers growing red rice register the traditional variety Chhohartu with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority (PPVFRA) eight years ago. The researchers, in the past one year, helped the farmers pursue the matter again with renewed efforts to conserve, develop, popularise and further spread the rice variety, bringing laurels to the state. The university had even helped the farmers form a Society as the award is given to societies only.

Chaudhary said the award, carrying a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a citation and a memento, would be presented to the farmers society on November 11 by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It is the countrys highest award for farmers, in recognition of their contribution to conserving and developing plant varieties.

A couple of years ago, the university scientists had helped farmers of Bhedal panchayat in Chamba district get the Plant Genome Saviour Community Award-2019 for conserving land races of maize Haachi (white), Retti (red) and chitkuri (popcorn).

Red rice is under cultivation in about 1,000 hectares in villages of Rohru subdivision.

The excess water having thick consistency, decanted after cooking the red rice, is considered healthy for expecting mothers.