In the National Development Council Meeting at Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal requested the centre to set up Himalayan regiment in the army. He said that India faces major military threat from neighboring China and the Indian army should be made fully capable to fight in the tough hilly regions and added that with this objective, a separate army regiments drawn from youths of hilly areas should be set up in the army as Himachali youths are well conversant with tough geography and topography of the region and are also prepared mentally and physically to encounter the enemy in this region .He requested the central Govt to make suitable provision of setting up Himalayan regiments in the 12th plan.
He pleaded for higher allocations for education and health sector in the plan and told that while the congress led UPA II had promised allocation of 6% and 3% of gross domestic product during the 2009 year elections but this commitment remains unfulfilled even by the end of this plan and told that both sector has been ignored by the UPA Govt in the 12th plan also. He asked the union Govt to formulate a land use policy and also demanded that draft should clearly mention that all scare natural resources should be brought and sold through auction only. He told that while the growth in current five year plan period is likely to average out at 8.2% which is not much higher than 7.8% achieved in tenth plan period Chief Minister demanded that agriculture produce pricing policy should be based on the recommendations of Swaminathan Committee under which the cost of production plus 50% of the cost of production should be basic norm of the pricing policy. He also demanded comprehensive approach for ensuring the welfare of the farmers and added that allocation to agriculture sector is half heartened while the agriculture development is still a patch work. He told that plan allocation of the Himachal Pradesh for agriculture and allied sector ranges from 11-12 percent which is high in compared to other states and asked the centre to provide incentives to state while allocating under R K V Y allocations. He demanded that those states allocating more than 10% of plan outlay for agriculture and allied activities should be provided at least 50 percent of that outlay under RKVY during the 12th five year plan.
