Sukhu announces Rs. 1 hike in apple procurement price, milk support price to rise from 1st December
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the state government is making continuous efforts to strengthen the rural economy and increase the income of farmers, apple growers and livestock farmers.
Addressing a large public meeting at Chirgaon in the Rohru Assembly constituency, the Chief Minister announced that the support price for milk would be increased from 1st December. He said that previous governments had made only small increases in milk prices, whereas the present state government had made a historic increase in the support price. He added that further increases in the future would help increase the income of livestock farmers.
Sh. Sukhu also announced an increase of Rs. one per kilogram in the procurement price of apples purchased under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS). Apples will now be purchased under the MIS at Rs. 13 per kg instead of Rs. 12 per kg. He said that the Congress government was committed to rural development and was continuously working to strengthen the rural economy. To benefit apple growers, the state government had introduced the universal carton system. Support prices were also being provided for produce from natural farming.
The Chief Minister said that the previous BJP government had not given enough attention to education and that Himachal Pradesh ranked 21st in terms of quality education in 2021. He said that, as a result of the efforts of the present state government, the state had now moved up to fifth place. He said that English-medium education had been introduced from Class 1 in government schools so that students studying in these schools would not lack confidence. In view of the declining number of students in government schools, the state government has opened more than 150 CBSE schools. He said that after CBSE curriculum was introduced in one school in Rohru, the number of students increased by more than 500 in just one year. He said that 1,500 teachers had been appointed in these CBSE schools. At the same time, schools affiliated with the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education were also being strengthened.
The state is also developing 300 Schools of Excellence. The aim is to provide children in rural areas with better education close to home and reduce the financial burden on parents who otherwise have to spend more on private education.
Sh. Sukhu said that the present state government was closing the back doors for corruption and using the state’s resources for the benefit of common people. He said that the previous BJP government had used state resources to benefit industrialists, whereas the present Congress government was using them in the interests of poor and ordinary people. He said, ‘As long as I am the Chief Minister, I will neither allow the state’s resources to be looted nor allow anyone to loot them.’ He appealed to the people to support the government in this fight. He said that the government was fighting corruption and those involved in corrupt practices.
Responding to questions being raised by the BJP about the Chief Minister’s Office, Sh. Sukhu said that the office belonged to the people and was a place where the problems of common masses were addressed. He said that the BJP had built offices worth more than Rs. 1,000 crore in the state.
He added that the state government had protected Himachal Pradesh’s interests in the Wildflower Hall and JSW cases before the Supreme Court. He also said that the state had achieved a significant success in the Kishau Multipurpose Project matter, which could generate around Rs. 1,200 crore to Rs. 1,500 crore in revenue for the state. He said that if there had been a BJP government in the state, the state’s interests would have been compromised.
Sh. Sukhu said that the Congress government had implemented the Old Pension Scheme for government employees and that more employees would be brought under the scheme in the future. He said that eligible women would receive a monthly pension of Rs. 1,500 under the ‘Apna Parivar Sukhi Parivar’ scheme. Eligible families would also be provided with 300 units of electricity.
He said that during the disaster, 23,000 houses in the state were completely destroyed. The present Congress government had increased financial assistance for such houses from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 7.5 lakh and it had now been increased further to Rs. 8 lakh.
The Chief Minister announced that Community Health Centre Sandasu would be upgraded to a Civil Hospital and that a Sub-Tehsil would be opened at Samarkot. He also announced that a survey would be conducted to explore the opening of an SDM office at Chirgaon. He further announced that Jangla and Chirgaon schools would be converted into CBSE schools.
Earlier, local MLA Mohan Lal Brakta said that this was Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s fourth visit to the Rohru Assembly constituency. He said that the government had fulfilled the demands placed before it by the people of the area.
He said that development was a continuous process and that the government was working regularly to meet the development needs of the constituency. He added that the increase in the support price of milk had increased the income of women in rural areas and had also encouraged milk production in the region.
Block Congress President Shivpal Thakur, panchayat representatives, representatives of mahila mandals and self-help groups, Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.