Himachal CM distributes Rs 11.31 cr to disaster-affected families in Solan

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu distributed compensation of over Rs 11.31 crore under the 'Punrvaas' Scheme to the disaster-affected families of Solan district on Thursday.

The compensation included rupees three lakh each as the first installment to 377 families whose houses were completely damaged due to the monsoon-led disaster.

The government has so far provided a compensation amount of Rs 42.53 crore to the disaster-affected people of Solan district.

Around 8,700 families were affected by the disaster in the Solan district. 377 houses in the district were destroyed, whereas about 500 houses were partially damaged.

The Chief Minister said that the compensation amount in cases of complete damage to the house has been increased over five times, from Rs 1.30 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.

"The state government is providing free electricity and water connections to the affected and was given cement for house construction at government rates of Rs 280 per bag," said CM Sukhu.

Apart from this, the compensation given in case of partial damage to Kutcha and Pucca houses has been increased to Rs 1 lakh, he said.

He said that the state government understands the pain of every affected person and adequate assistance is being provided to every disaster affected.

CM Sukhu also said the state government is doing its best with its limited resources to provide relief to the affected families.

The Chief Minister further said that the government inherited a loan of about Rs 75,000 crore from the previous government. However, the government was effectively dealing with the challenges with the cooperation of the people, employees and officials of the state.

"The state government was not here to enjoy the power but instead was working with the motto of 'Vyavstha Partivartan'. No one from my family has been in politics. I have pledged to take the benefits of government schemes to the most deprived," stated the Chief Minister.

The state government has adopted 4,000 orphans as children of the state. The government enacted the country's first law and started the Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashraya Yojana, under which the government will take care of these children up to the age of 27 and also bear the expenses of their higher education to make them self-reliant, CM Sukhu said.

The Chief Minister said that the state government, in the last 10 months, has already fulfilled three guarantees and will fulfil the remaining ones in a phased manner.

He stated that despite the financial crisis, the state government adopted a social and humanitarian approach and fulfilled the first guarantee by implementing the Old Pension Scheme for government employees so that they could live their lives with dignity after retirement.

Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil also spoke at the event and said that this year we have faced a huge tragedy due to excessive rains and the state government was making every possible effort to ease the sufferings of the affected people.

Jogindra Bank Chairman Mukesh Sharma presented a check of Rs 2.51 crore to the Chief Minister in the form of the Agricultural Cooperative Stabilisation Fund.

He also presented a check for Rs 20 lakh to the Chief Minister towards Aapda Rahat Kosh. Apart from this, Arki Block Congress presented a check of Rs 2.63 lakh, Rotary Club Solan President MP Kanwar presented a check of Rs 2.51 lakh and Advocate Vaibhav Kumar presented a check of Rs 1.51 lakh to the Chief Minister towards Aapda Rahat Kosh.

The Chief Minister also launched the Platinum Card and UPI Payment System for the convenience of the customers of Jogindra Central Cooperative Bank. The bank transferred an amount of Rs 1 lakh to the Aapda Rahat Kosh through UPI.

On this occasion, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Ram Kumar Chaudhary and Sanjay Awasthi, MLAs Vinod Sultanpuri and KL Thakur, Baghat Bank Chairman Arun Sharma, Political Advisor to the Chief Minister Sunil Sharma and District Congress President Shiv Kumar were present.

Mahila Congress State President Zainab Chandel, Congress leader Hardeep Singh Bawa, State Congress Committee General Secretary Surender Sethi, Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh, representatives of various Panchayats and other dignitaries were also present at the event.