Himachal Pradesh assembly session: Won’t accept employees’ old pension demand, says Jai Ram

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday made it clear that the state government would not accept the demands of the employees who are protesting for restoration of the old pension scheme

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday made it clear that the state government would not accept the demands of the employees who are protesting for restoration of the old pension scheme.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur accused the opposition of provoking and misleading government employees.

Jai Ram was replying to discussions on the cut proposals brought up in the assembly by the opposition regarding the police and affiliated organisations.

The chief minister also accused the opposition of provoking and misleading government employees. He asked the employees to fulfil the responsibilities given to them by the government and not get involved in politics.

The cut motions were rejected by voice vote after the opposition refused to withdraw them.

Earlier, when opposition member Satpal Raizada had moved the motion, Thakur was not present in the house.

Peeved over the CM’s absence, leader of the Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri said that the government was not serious about the issue concerning the people of the state.

As soon as Raizada finished his speech, the entire opposition walked out of the house in protest. Later, Thakur reached the House and Panchayati Raj minister Virendra Kanwar brought back the opposition MLAs from outside.

Thakur said that as police officers had come to his residence and spoken peacefully, it is also the responsibility of the government to give them their rights. “Police are performing their duties well and should not be demoralised,” he said.

Thakur said that police has tightened the noose on criminals in the state and the government has attached properties worth ₹20 crores of drug smugglers.

Regarding the arrest of Arvind Digvijay Negi by the NIA, he said that the investigation is going on in this case, so it was not rational to speak on the matter.

19 people nominated as chairmen and vice-chairmen in last 3 years

The Himachal Pradesh government nominated 19 people as chairmen and vice-chairmen of various boards and corporations in the last three years and spent more than ₹60 lakh on travelling allowance/dearness allowance (TA/DA) and house rent for them, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur informed in a written reply to a question asked by CPIM MLA Rakesh Singha.

Nihal Chand, vice-chairman of Himachal Pradesh Milk Producers Federation Limited, was paid the highest TA/DA amounting to ₹15.06 lakh. Ganesh Dutt, vice-chairman of HP Cooperative Marketing and Consumer Federation Ltd, was paid ₹12.61 lakh TA/DA and ₹25,600 house rent.

Similarly, the vice-chairman of HP State Cooperative Wool Procurement and Marketing Federation was paid ₹10.18 lakh as TA/DA and ₹1.68 lakh as house rent. Vice-chairman of the State Agriculture Marketing Board was paid the lowest TA/DA at ₹7,925.

HP to appoint a technical adviser to set up ropeway linking Naina Devi to Anandpur Sahib

The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to appoint a new technical adviser to set up the Naina Devi-Anandpur Sahib aerial ropeway, the chief minister said in reply to a question asked by Naina Devi legislator Ram Lal Thakur.

He said that an MoU was signed between Punjab and HP governments in September 2018 to build the ropeway and IPRRCL was appointed as the technical adviser for the project and assigned the task to prepare the bid documents.

Congress walkout over bill brought up in ‘haste’

The opposition Congress on Monday staged a walkout from the assembly over the introduction of the Himachal Pradesh Slum Dwellers (Property Rights) Bill 2022, to provide landownership to the slum dwellers, alleging that the bill was brought in haste and they did not get time to study

The Bill was introduced in the House by urban development minister Suresh Bhardwaj after 7pm. The opposition strongly opposed the introduction of the bill and first raised slogans in the house and later the entire opposition walked out of the house by walking out.

Parliamentary affairs Minister Suresh Bhardwaj accepted the mistake. He clarified that the bill was inadvertently circulated to the legislators.