Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday thanked the Union Government for according approval to the proposals of about Rs. 10,620 crore of various externally aided projects in Himachal Pradesh during the last four years.
While participating in a pre-budget consultation meeting on union budget 2022-23, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, presided over by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Chief Minister said that the Finance Ministry was continuously providing generous financial assistance to the state. He said that the interest free loan of Rs. 400 crore was sanctioned for the development of in the state during this financial year and an additional Rs. 600 crore may be provided in the form of special assistance.
Raising the issue of import duty on apples, Thakur emphasized on the need to increase the same from 50 percent to 100 percent to protect Himachali Apple and the livelihood of 2.5 lakh families. He said that the apple was the main horticultural crop of the state which was also the primary source of the livelihood of a large Population. However, due to a large influx of the imported apples in the national market, prices of the Himachal Apple had fallen sharply, leading to revenue losses of the horticulturists of the state. Therefore import duty should be increased and apple crop should be excluded from the list of fruits and other commodities brought under Open General License (OGL).