Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today said that his meetings with Union Ministers in New Delhi were productive and yielded positive assurances on several important issues concerning Himachal Pradesh.
Speaking to the media upon his return from Delhi, the Chief Minister stated that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured him that the demand for adopting a region-specific approach while finalizing fiscal devolution, grants and disaster management frameworks would be examined. He said such an approach is essential to ensure adequate financial support for hill states like Himachal Pradesh to meet their developmental requirements and disaster resilience challenges.
The Chief Minister further informed that the Union Finance Minister also assured positive consideration of the State Government’s request to allow additional borrowing of two percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to strengthen the State’s financial position.
Sukhu said that he also raised concerns related to apple growers during his meeting with the Union Finance Minister. He highlighted that the import of apples from New Zealand has adversely affected the interests of local orchardists.
He added that the same issue was discussed with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who assured that the Union Government would examine measures to restrict apple imports during Himachal Pradesh’s peak production season from July to November. The Union Minister also assured sympathetic consideration of the demand of hill states to avoid import duty exemptions on New Zealand apples between April and August, as such imports were impacting local growers.
Describing his meeting with Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar as fruitful, the Chief Minister said that detailed discussions were held on issues related to the State’s share in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). He also raised the matter of obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NoC) from BBMB for allotment of land for an integrated office of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL). The Union Power Minister assured that necessary action would be taken soon.
At present, the HPPCL offices are operating from multiple locations, including the corporate office in Shimla, the design office in Sundernagar and the renewable energy wing in Hamirpur.
