Nearly five months after flash floods hit the State due to incessant rains, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh once again called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and requested him to provide financial assistance of Rs 1,972.08 crore under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to undertake reconstruction and rehabilitation work in flood affected areas of the State.
The Himachal Chief Minister told the Prime Minister that the State suffered cumulative loss of Rs 2,934 crore from heavy rains during monsoon. He gave the details of the losses to the Prime Minister and sought adequate compensation for the people of the State.
Giving details about the work undertaken by the State Government after coming to power, Virbhadra Singh said about 16,500 units in the small, medium and large scale sector with proposed investment of Rs 48,830 crore and employment potential of 5,42,580 persons were approved in the State between January 6 to March 2013. Out of approved units, 9,353 units were set up with investment of Rs 14,557 crore, which provided employment to 1,20,602 persons.
Singh requested the Prime Minister to sanction special industrial incentive package to the State and demanded sanction of investment subsidy at the rate of 15 per cent and exemption of income tax and central excise duty for five years and 10 years till the year 2020. The Prime Minister appreciated the issues raised by State Government and assured that Central Government will provide all possible financial assistance to the State to speed up the pace of development.