Coming out with a vision document for Shimla city, the Congress on Wednesday promised special schemes for tourism and traders in the city, besides providing potable drinking water, sewerage disposal scheme and improving transport and parking facilities in the British-era capital city.
Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and State Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu jointly released the vision document, ‘Shimla Sankalp 2017’ while IPH Minister Vidya Stokes and other senior leaders of the party were also present in state headquarter of Congress.
Addressing media on the occasion, Virbhadra Singh said that Congress had dominated Shimla MC since its inception 32 years ago and once again it is heading to retain it. He said his Government was committed to implement the retention policy brought by the State Government in the Budget session of Himachal Pradesh Assembly but it hit a stumble block as a challenge had been thrown to the policy in the High Court.
Singh said the State Government was firm on the policy and it would be implemented as soon as the legal hurdle is cleared. He said the Government would ensure that people of Shimla could get their constructions regularised.
Sending a clear signal to the people on the finality of allowing regularisation of unauthorised construction, Singh said people of the town should take maximum benefit of the policy as it was the last such retention policy and after this, no unauthorised construction would be regularised in the city.
Making a promise of round the clock potable drinking water, the Chief Minister said the State Government would provide potable drinking water round the clock as it had augmented Rs 1200 crore World Bank scheme. He said the scheme would benefit about 1.90 lakh population. He said Congress was committed for execution of this scheme shortly and Rs 100 crore had already been sanctioned to improve water supply in the town.
He said the State Government was also working on Rs 200 crore sewerage disposal scheme and would also provide the underground solid based treatment plant in the city.
Making a claim that the party would get “a massive victory” in Shimla MC polls, Singh said Shimla was a historic town and the massive response given to the party in campaigning, had given his assurance that Congress would regain control over Shimla MC and party would secure majority in Municipal Corporation.
Counting on the development projects implemented in Shimla in last 4 years, he said the entire Mall road and Ridge had got a facelift during the four year of Congress government. From CTO to HP University and from Ridge to Sanjouli and from Ritz to Rajbhavan, steel railing and RCC drains were installed, he added.
The Chief Minister said that he was trying to ensure that party candidates get massive public support as he was working overtime to communicate with maximum number of people in the capital town.