Title - State seeks Rs 2,000-cr package

Shimla : Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has urged the Centre to provide a special package of Rs 2,000 crore to the state to meet its committed liabilities.Raising the demand with Union Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar here today, he said the state had plunged into a deep financial crisis due to faulty recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission which grossly under-assessed its committed liabilities on account of salaries and pensions of employees. The state was provided a hike of just 50 per cent, the minimum, while devolution to some other states was increased by as much as 150 per cent.He underlined the need for the expeditious construction of the Bhanupalli-Barmana-Mandi-Manali-Keylong-Leh railway line, which was not only important for tourism promotion but also from the defence point of view. It would help save transportation costs incurred on carrying men and material to the Ladakh region. He said the infrastructure being developed by neighbouring country should be taken as a warning and taken seriously by the Centre. The project must be taken up immediately and completed in a time-bound manner.He drew attention to the fact that a number of hydro-electric projects were held up for want of clearances to be granted by the Government of India. Such an attitude was hampering the hydropower development in the state and also increasing the cost of the projects.He also raised the issue of the premature withdrawal of the special industrial package, granted by the NDA regime up to March 2013, by the UPA government. He said it showed a bias against Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand, both of which were deprived of the full benefit as the duration of the package was curtailed by three years.He also sought subsidy on heli-taxi service to attract high-end tourists and also called for expeditious payment of arrears of the state’s claim in the BBMB projects as the Supreme Court had already dismissed the review petition filed by Haryana and Punjab.