Irrigation and Public Health Minister Ravinder Singh Ravi claims that Himachal Pradesh is the first State in the Country to provide adequate relief package to Pong Dam oustees including rehabilitating them. Minister was speaking at the meeting of Cabinet Sub Committee on Implementation of Election Manifesto. Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Rajeev Bindal and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Jai Ram Thakur were also present at the meeting. The Cabinet Sub Committee reviewed the progress of Revenue, Home Guards and Home departments.
Ravi said that it was the BJP Government which constituted ‘Pong Dam Development Agency’ in June 2008 to look into the relief and Rehabilitation Package to be provided to the Dam oustees, adding that sufficient monetary assistance was being provided from Pong Fund for higher education of the children, including marriages of girl child and renovation of houses to those affected families, whose annual source of income was less than Rs 15000. He said that the State Government has introduced strict guidelines for new projects coming up in the State to directly deal with the people who were being affected by such projects. Sh. Ravi said that if land holdings of people were being affected by the construction of the projects, it has been made mandatory that the project authorities may directly negotiate with the affected land owners and any suggestions from their side must be adhered to.
It was revealed in the meeting that the revenue record of 20138 villages has been computerized and the process of distributing the computerized record of land holdings to land owners was in progress in 109 tehsils of the State.
The committee also discussed on the Benami land transactions, deals and encroachments and urged the people to bring the same in the notice of the HP Benami Land and Transaction Commission, set up under the chairmanship of retired High Court Judge by routing a simple application. Ravi said that the BJP Government had fulfilled the almost all promises of Election Manifesto. The Government has twice enhanced the wages of Home Guards Jawans i.e. from Rs. 130 to Rs. 150 in 2008 and thereafter from Rs. 150 to Rs. 170 in 2009. He said that the Chief Minister Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal had announced on 15th August, 2011 for further enhancement of wages of Home Guards from Rs. 170 to Rs. 200. The Committee also discussed regarding amendments to be made in the Act concerning the property of temples. The Committee was of the opinion that the land of the temples may not be transferred in any circumstances and encroachments thereon may be removed at the earliest.
