Himachal Pradesh Minister Kaul Singh Thakur on Saturday accused the successive Governments at the Centre, including the Congress, for ‘discriminating’ against the hill State in terms of awarding railway projects. “Whether it was the Congress-led Government or any other party at the Centre, Himachal Pradesh was always discriminated against in the matter of railway,” the state Health and Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur said while addressing a Meet-The-Press programme.
He said that a transport subsidy used to be given to the state for running buses but was stopped by the Centre. Thakur, Congress MlA from Darang assembly constituency, said that the Virbhadra Singh-led government had been demanding Manali-leh railway project from the point of view of defence but nothing had been done yet in this regard. “The rail track till leh is strategically very important as it’s near to China's border,” he said.
The minister said that the Himachal Pradesh government had pitched for special category status and industrial package for the state. “Himachal Pradesh was declared a special category state by none other than late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,” he said. However, after Modi led government disbanded Planning Commission, the grant of 90 per cent of central sponsored schemes to the hill state stopped, he said. “What will be NITI Aayog (that has replaced Planning Commission) and what will be its niyat (intention) is yet to be seen," he said.