Govt seeks funds from Finance Commission to decongest Shimla To decongest the “Queen of Hills”, the state government today sought funds from the 14th Finance Commission for undertaking the construction of a tunnel and shifting of a dental and nursing college to the outskirts of the town to free the state capital of overcrowding and traffic chaos. The five-member 14th Finance Commission, headed by YV Reddy, arrived here today on a three-day visit to the state. On the first day of its visit, the team visited Shimla and adjoining areas to review development works and interact with local panchayats. The team members, accompanied by state government officials, visited Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) at Baldian village near Naldehra. The main objective of the visit of the team was to get a fair idea about the traffic congestion resulting from the vehicular movement on the Circular Road. The state government is keen to get funds to the tune of about Rs 130 crore for undertaking the construction of a tunnel from the lift near the Mall to a petrol pump near St Bede’s College. This will reduce the traffic on the Cart Road. Though three tunnels have been proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), but as of now, funds only for one tunnel are being sought. Another major problem area is the IGMC, where there is a very little space for expansion, parking and vehicular movement. The government has taken a decision to shift the Government Dental College and Nursing College, located on the IGMC campus to Ghanatti, to the outskirts of the town. Funds will be sought from the Commission for undertaking the construction of the college at the new site near Ghanatti. The Commission members also undertook a visit to Baldian village to see the development works like construction of schools. “The very fact that the cost of construction in the hills is far higher than in the plains will justify our demand for enhanced funding as compared to the other states,” said an official. He added that besides this, it had also to be borne in mind that the population in the hills was scattered and creating facilities for all works would cost more than in the plains. The Commission will hold a meeting with the Chief Minister and the Cabinet tomorrow morning. This will be followed by an interaction with representatives of various political parties, industry, local bodies and municipalities. The Commission is scheduled to undertake a visit to the rain-ravaged tribal district of Kinnuar, where there has been maximum damage during the monsoons. As per the programme the Commission is likely to visit areas around Reckong Peo and Pooh to see the construction of road, schools and mini-stadium in the area. The team will return to Delhi on August 15. With a salary burden of almost Rs 7,000 crore and pension liability of Rs 2,000 crore, the Himachal government is desperately trying to get maximum possible financial help from the Commission, especially in view of the fact that there are very few sectors for resource mobilisation. Help on the way -Members of the 14th Finance Commission on a three-day visit -Commission members review development works and interact with local panchayats -Commission to meet the Chief Minister and his Ministers -Govt may seek `130 cr for construction of a tunnel in Shimla -Govt to apprise Commission of salary burden of Rs 7,000 cr and pension liability of Rs 2,000 cr Source: The Tribune / Shimla, August 2013
Posted on: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 04:04:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015