Himachal ignored by Centre, says CM

Himachal has a quarter of the country's hydel power potential but only a fourth of this has been harnessed.

The Himachal Pradesh government was ready to move out of the list of special category states and generate its own resources, but for this the co-operation of the Centre was needed, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh told a Planning Commission team yesterday.

"The Centre must provide Himachal its legitimate right in hydel projects, expand railways and help exploit its natural potential," Singh said.

He raised this with the five member planning commission team headed by the commission member Dr Sayeda Hameed. He recalled the unmet announcements of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit last year to the hill state.

"The prime minister had assured Himachal's 30 per cent equity participation in all joint hydel projects across the state. The completion of the Nangal-Talwara railway line within two years and taking up the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Veri railway line under a national project, but there had been no progress on all these issues," the chief minister said.

"While most other states have witnessed a revolution in railway expansion, Himachal had not got its legitimate share of railway expansion after independence," he said.

Singh said that the state was still awaiting promised funds for drinking water supply and road connectivity to the panchayats where the state had already started work on a war footing to complete the well within two years.

The chief minister said that it could carry development and welfare activities with its own income and would remain least dependent over the central assistance. Himachal Pradesh has a quarter of the entire country's hydel power potential but only a quarter of this had been harnessed so far.

Besides Hameed the other four planning commission representatives included Advisor Manulika Gautam, Consultant Gunjan Veda, JP Vijay and Vijay Kumar.