Shimla Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who took over the reins of the hill state as its 15th chief minister, has several challenges ahead of him, including the state’s debt burden, tackling in-fighting within the party, and fulfilling party’s guarantees such as restoring the old pension scheme and giving ₹1,500 per month to women. Sukhu outlined some of his plans in an interview with Gaurav Bisht. Excerpts:
What will be the government’s top priorities? We want to change the system, provide better services to the masses, and uplift the downtrodden. Our first priority is providing a clean and transparent government that is accountable. We are already trying to identify the bottlenecks that hamper the service delivery system. I assure the people that this is their own government and we will ensure public participation in policy formation. Making Himachal pollution-free is also a priority for which we intend to replace petrol and diesel government vehicles with electric ones in a phased manner. To achieve this objective, charging stations will also be set up across the state. Plans are also afoot to replace the Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus fleet and introduce electric buses to reduce carbon emission in the state. A clean environment will bring in more tourists. By June 15, one department will be made a “clean department”, which means they will get electric vehicles. We will connect all 12 district headquarters with the heliport and expand the air connectivity.
The state is reeling under debt. What steps will be taken to overcome the financial crisis? I have held multiple rounds of meetings with officers from different departments to understand the financial situation. This will go on for another few days. The new government will cut down on all wasteful expenditure. In the first meeting, all Congress MLAs decided to forego subsidies and facilities provided to them during their stay at government rest houses. All MLAs have also been directed to create a road map for carrying out developmental work in their respective constituencies. The budget would be scheme-based and the allocation will not be outside the budget plans.
{{/usCountry}}The state is reeling under debt. What steps will be taken to overcome the financial crisis? I have held multiple rounds of meetings with officers from different departments to understand the financial situation. This will go on for another few days. The new government will cut down on all wasteful expenditure. In the first meeting, all Congress MLAs decided to forego subsidies and facilities provided to them during their stay at government rest houses. All MLAs have also been directed to create a road map for carrying out developmental work in their respective constituencies. The budget would be scheme-based and the allocation will not be outside the budget plans.
{{/usCountry}}Congress had promised implementation of OPS and ₹1,500 per month to every women of he state. How will you implement them?
We are on track to implement our promise to restore OPS in the first Cabinet meeting. OPS implementation will be decided at the cabinet meeting after cabinet expansion. We will implement all the 10 guarantees promised by my party. My first priority is to give transparent and efficient governance.
Cement prices in Himachal, which has three major plants, are much higher than the other states. Why so? The companies are using the resources and minerals of the state. We will ensure that the prices are reduced and make it affordable for the common man.
How will you tackle factionalism in the party in the face of a strong opposition? We were a strong opposition as well. Who says there is factionalism in the party? There can only be differences of opinion. The party is resolute about living up to the expectations of the people.