Hindustan Times (Jammu)

HP govt mulling to shift some offices outside town

- Gaurav Bisht gaurav.bisht@htlive.com

In order to address the issue of increasing population density and challenges posed by it, making Shimla overcrowde­d, Himachal Pradesh government will soon make all possible efforts to decongest this popular tourist hub.

Speaking during the question hour in the state assembly on Friday, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said that his government was mulling to shift some government offices from Shimla town. Congress legislator from Arki, Sanjay Awasthi had earlier raised the question about increasing traffic and population pressure on Shimla town.

“There is constant pressure of population in Shimla and there have been a lot of problems related to vehicular traffic. As part of the Smart City project, government has made some efforts in which the roads have been widened, but even this is not the complete solution. In such a scenario, it is necessary that some government offices need to be shifted from here to the adjoining area” he said.

The chief minister said that his government plans to develop more transporta­tion facilities in the areas adjoining Shimla so that areas can take-off some pressure of the huge population density from Shimla. He said that the government would examine which offices could be shifted out from Shimla town. “It’s not that you just pick up randomly. There are lots of problems while shifting the offices,” Thakur said, adding that earlier a Himachal Pradesh Board of School Educations office had been shifted from Shimla to Dharamshal­a. Some offices had been shifted out from Shimla to Hamirpur, he adaded

Earlier, Arki MLA Sanjay Awasthi raised the question in the house that Shimla should be allowed to remain a tourist city. Everything is under constant pressure here. Every day it is jammed here for hours because all the government offices are present in Shimla. People come to get their work done. Not only this, lakhs of tourists comes here, due to which the congestion is increasing here.

25 vehicles stolen in Shimla in 1 year

In a written reply to the question of MLA Anirudh Singh, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur informed that 25 vehicles have been stolen in the capital Shimla in the last one year. He informed that out of these 25 stolen vehicles, 16 vehicles have been recovered by the police. 25 cases have been registered against vehicle thefts. At the same time, 21 accused have been arrested by the police.

Electricit­y free for 14.62 lakh consumers

After the decision of the Jai Ram Thakur government to provide 125 units of electricit­y free of cost, 14, 62, 130 domestic consumers of the state no longer have to pay electricit­y bills. This is the consumer whose electricit­y consumptio­n is less than 125 units every month and now they are getting zero bill from the government. Energy minister Sukhram Chaudhary said in a written reply to MLA Ramesh Dhwala that there are 22,59,645 domestic consumers in the state at present, while there are 7,97,515 consumers who spend more than 125 units of electricit­y every month. The maximum number of 280498 consumers availing free electricit­y facility is in Kangra district, while the number of domestic consumers availing free electricit­y facility in Mandi district is 240618, 239625 in Shimla, 121360 in Solan, 121244 in Kullu, 114262 in Hamirpur, Chamba. There are 101793 in Sirmaur, 82991 in Una, 60497 in Bilaspur, 22662 in Kinnaur, 8335 in Lahaul-Spiti.

Water guards will come on contract after 12 yrs

In response to the question of MLA Pawan Kajal, Jal Shakti minister Mahendra Singh informed that the water guards who complete the 12-year term will be brought on contract. He was informed that as per the recruitmen­t and promotion rules, after completing the tenure of 12 years, jal rakshaks are promoted to the vacant posts of pump attendants in the Jal Shakti Department on a contract basis.

19 people died due to cloudburst in three years

In the last three years, 19 people have died due to cloudburst incidents in the state. During this, maximum deaths have occurred in Lahaul-Spiti and Kullu districts. The incidents of cloudburst in six districts of the state have wreaked havoc and even houses and animals had come under it. Revenue minister Mahendra Singh gave this informatio­n in a written reply to the question of Jwalamukhi MLA Ramesh Chand Dhawala in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday.

 ?? HT PHOTO ?? HP chief minister Jai Ram Thakur launching the theme song of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ composed and sung by state police orchestra ‘Harmony of Pines’, at Vidhan Sabha in Shimla on Friday.
HT PHOTO HP chief minister Jai Ram Thakur launching the theme song of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ composed and sung by state police orchestra ‘Harmony of Pines’, at Vidhan Sabha in Shimla on Friday.

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