Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Thursday met Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Communications minister Kapil Sibal in New Delhi and raised issues related to the State in his meetings.
In his meeting with Chidambaram, Singh demanded for uniform funding in the Central-State ratio of 90:10 for all the Centrally sponsored schemes in Himachal Pradesh. Singh said that at present there was difference in funding pattern to special category States like the Himachal Pradesh and North Eastern States. While the North Eastern States are getting funding in the pattern of 90:10 ratio, the same is not applicable in the Himachal Pradesh. He told that State was getting funding which varies from 20 per cent to 75 per cent depending upon the schemes.
He demanded that all Central Ministries should be directed to provide uniform funding for all schemes for Himachal Pradesh. The Himachal CM also demanded revival of special industrial package till the year 2020 by providing income tax and Central excise duty exemption to the industrial units for next 10 years. Chidambaram assured Singh that Central Government would consider all the demands sympathetically and provide liberal financial assistance to the State for ensuring its overall developments.
In his next meeting with Communications Minister Kapil Sibal, Singh demanded the supply of alternative backup of power like solar power to mobile towers set up in the remote, inaccessible and tribal areas of the State. The Chief minister told Sibal that mobile towers in these areas stop functioning due to disruption of electricity supply due to heavy rainfall and snowfall as result of which the entire mobile network is paralysed in these regions.