Authority to include or delete names of BPL families vests in Gram Sabhas: Himachal minister

The authority to include or delete names of below poverty line (BPL) families vests in Gram Sabhas as per the guidelines of the Union government and the list is reviewed every year, Himachal Pradesh Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh said on Wednesday.

In reply to a question of Congress MLA Kewal Singh Pathania in the state Assembly, he said, "The government has to ensure that the criteria laid for inclusion and exclusion in BPL lists are met and the state government had issued a detailed notification for revision of the BPL list annually in 2018." The notification provided for the constitution of a committee at the panchayat level to be notified by the Block Development Officer concerned for preparing the list of deserving persons fulfilling the criteria/guidelines and the selection of the Gram Sabha is final, he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, while replying to BJP MLA Vipin Singh Parmar's query, said the government had approved the electric buses policy in 2022 and if there are some deficiencies in it, these would be removed. He said charging centers would be set up keeping in mind the number of buses coming to a place for charging.

In reply to another question, Agnihotri told Rakesh Jamwal of the BJP that two water supply schemes costing Rs 36.91 crore have been sanctioned for Dehar and Sundernagar under the Sundernagar Jal Shakti Division and 90 per cent of work on the scheme for Dehar has been completed while only five per cent work of other scheme has been completed so far.

In a written reply to BJP MLA Randhir Sharma's question, the deputy chief minister said 66 divisions of the Jal Shakti Department are functional in the state while the present Congress government has closed eight such divisions.

Himachal Pradesh is producing about 1,500 MT of wool from sheep annually and the production was1,460.335 MT in 2018-19, 1,516.44 MT in 2019-20, 1,482.24 MT in 2020-21 and 1,232.85 MT in 2021-22, Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar informed in reply to a question of BJP legislator Janak Raj.

A proposal has been sent to the Wool Development Board, Jodhpur and on approval, the production would increase by 50 MT, he added.

In another written reply, Kumar said there was no drought-like situation in the state but deficient rainfall during the year is a cause of worry for agriculture and animal husbandry sectors. The government is keeping a constant watch on the situation and will take necessary measures when required, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)