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PM’s visit: Sukhu to seek special package for rain-battered hill state
“We have high expectations from the PM’s visit. We have demanded a special package from the Centre. Tomorrow in Dharamshala, we will give a presentation to him on the damage caused by the disaster,” said Sukhu, adding, “The PM will personally assess the damage”.
With mounting losses owing to devastation caused by heavy rains in the state, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will be demanding a special relief package from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit the state on Tuesday.
Modi will conduct an aerial survey of the devastation-hit areas of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday and will be holding a meeting in Kangra.
“We have high expectations from the PM’s visit. We have demanded a special package from the Centre. Tomorrow in Dharamshala, we will give a presentation to him on the damage caused by the disaster,” said Sukhu, adding, “The PM will personally assess the damage tomorrow”.
“I will request the PM to release the relief amount on time so that the disaster-affected people can be given relief on time,” said Sukhu, while adding that after the aerial survey of the damage caused by the disaster, the Himachal government will inform the PM about the damage through a presentation in Dharamshala.
“We will also request changes in rules related to forest land to facilitate rehabilitation of the people who have lost their houses owing to devastation. So far, Himachal has suffered losses worth ₹5,000 crore,” said the chief minister while talking to the media in Shimla.
He added, “We will request him to give exemption in the Forest Conservation Act to give one bigha of land to build a house”.
He added that on September 11, he would attend a meeting in Delhi with the Finance Commission. “I will present Himachal’s financial situation to the Commission and seek additional assistance in view of the disaster losses,” he said.
