HP to give priority to road construction in backward areas

Construction of roads in backward areas of the state would be given top priority to ensure balanced development of these regions, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said.
Presiding over the state Planning Board meeting here which approved Rs 4,400 crore annual plan outlay for the state for 2014-15, Virbhadra Singh said that the Plan was 7.32 per cent more than plan of 2013-14 and Rs 1,108 crore had been proposed under Scheduled Caste Sub Plan, while Rs 395 crore would be spent under Scheduled Tribe Sub Plan.
The Chief Minister said that highest allocation of Rs 1,085 crore has been made for Social Service Sector which was 38 per cent of the total Plan outlay.

Transport and Communication sectors have also been accorded priority and Rs 817 crore had been proposed for this sector which was 19 per cent of the total Plan.
He said that hydropower development was also a priority area and Rs 648 crore had been made for this sector which was 15 per cent of the Plan, while Rs 545 crore, which is 12 per cent of the plan would earmarked for horticulture and agriculture sectors.
He said the growth rate of the state was better than national average and per capita income of the state was Rs 82,611 as compared to national per capita income of Rs 68,947 at current prices.

The state had also performed better in literacy and the state literacy rate was 82.80 per cent as compared to 73 per cent at national level and the life expectancy in the state was 70 years as compared to 66.1 years of the national level.

Singh said that sex ratio of the State was 972, while Infant Mortality Rate was 38. He said that the ratio of Government employees of Himachal Pradesh was 3.95 per cent of its population as compared to 1.54 in Uttrakhand, 1. 30 of Jammu & Kashmir, 1.56 of Punjab and 1.29 of Haryana.
Singh said that 2,92,921 old age, widows and physical challenged beneficiaries were receiving Social Security Pension which had been enhanced to Rs 500 from Rs 450 per month.

The grant under Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana had been enhanced to Rs 75,000 from Rs 48,500 and free travel facility in HRTC buses was also being provided to the Government School students.