Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday urged the Union Government to resolve pending cases of Pong Dam oustees in accordance with the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court at the earliest.
Addressing the 30th meeting of North Zonal Council held at Jaipur today, he said that people of the state have suffered the pain of displacement for the construction of Pong dam and other hydroelectric projects, pointing out that 2.25 lakh acres of land was reserved in Rajasthan to rehabilitate 16,352 displaced Himachalis due to the construction of Pong Dam. He said that out of these, only 8,713 displaced were provided land/murabbas.
The meeting was presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah which was attended by Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governor of eight states and Union Territories to discuss issues related with Law & Order, internal security, border areas and inter-state water issues.
Thakur said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of Renuka ji dam project worth Rs. 7000 crore to be constructed on Giri river in Sirmaur district on 27th December 2021. He said that this 40 MW project would produce 200 million units of energy annually. He said that this would meet 40 percent of the drinking water requirements of Delhi. This ambitious project would prove to be very important in meeting the energy and drinking water needs of several States in the Northern region, he added.
He said that the share of Himachal Pradesh in the BBMB projects was 7.19 percent, yet the State does not have the status of a full time member. He said that over one lakh acres of fertile land of the State was submerged in Bhakra project and 65,563 acres of land in Dehar and Pong projects of Beas river, while the State has not been given the right to proper use of electricity and water from these reservoirs. He also took up the matter of construction of four laning of Pinjore-Baddi-Nalagarh road stretch.
Expressing concern over the problem of drug abuse that has emerged as a major challenge for our society, he said that Himachal Pradesh government was running an awareness campaign, especially among the youth, to bring awareness about the ill effects of drugs. He said that the State Government was also maintaining constant coordination with neighboring states. He urged all the states to take a pledge to make this campaign more effectively to eradicate this social vice. He also took up the matter of telecom connectivity in 585 uncovered remote villages of the State.
He also urged the Union Government for speedy redressal of long pending issue of rail connectivity to Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area of the State.