Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], November 25 : Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu dedicated development projects worth Rs 43.37 crore to the people of the Kasumpatti Assembly constituency here on Monday and announced bus service from Peeran to Shimla via Kufri.
He inaugurated the Zila Parishad Bhawan at Chalonthi, built at a cost of Rs 20.26 crore and inaugurated the new building of Government College Koti, constructed and the newly constructed science block at Government Senior Secondary School Koti, a release said.
He also announced 10 additional beds and more staff for Koti Community Health Centre (CHC) at Koti and assured that an ambulance would be made available at CHC to cater to the emergency needs.
Along with the opening of a police post in Koti, the Chief Minister announced Rs 50 lakh each for the improvement of the Koti-Padechi and Koti-Mundadhar roads and announced a new Patwar Circle for Satlai.
He expressed pride in the development of a modern campus at Koti which has been made possible through the efforts of Rural Development Minister Anirudh Singh, the release said. He further revealed that the state government plans to make Koti the first college in Himachal Pradesh to offer a B.Ed. classes, starting from the next academic session. Besides the government mulls to introduce B.Ed. and ITI courses in other colleges of the state.
The Chief Minister said that due to the negligence in the education sector and lavish spending of the previous government, the standard of education had declined. He assured that the state government was continuously working to reverse the trends and establishing 800 'Schools of Excellence' besides opening Rajiv Gandhi Day-boarding Schools across the state. He said that along with educational reforms, the government was also strengthening public health facilities throughout the state, particularly at IGMC Shimla, mentioned the official statement.
While launching a scathing attack on the BJP Government, Sukhu said that the opposition leaders were flaring up petty issues on social media platforms thus trying to defame the government nationwide.
He responded firmly to "personal attacks" by the opposition, stating that he would not be intimidated and would continue to take decisions in the best interest of the people of the state and to strengthen the derailed economy, which would hardly affect 70 percent of the population of the State.
The Chief Minister said that the present state government inherited "empty coffers" from the previous Government. They make irrelevant statements which show their frustration following the victory of the present government in recent by-elections, he said.
Citing the initiatives of his government, the Chief Minister said that they increased the wages for MNREGA workers, from Rs 240 to Rs 300 and restored the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for 1.36 lakh employees in the first cabinet meeting.
He also mentioned the initiatives under the Sukh Aashray Yojana and the benefits being given to women under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Yojna, read the statement.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh thanked the Chief Minister for dedicating the various development projects. He said that significant development projects were now underway in the constituency, including Rs 40 crores being spent on roads.