Shimla
 
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday announced that the state government would pay Rs 800 crore to SJVN Limited to take back the Dhaulasidh Hydroelectric Project, asserting that Himachal would protect its rights and “not compromise on them under any circumstances”. He also said the state had allocated Rs 450 crore from its own budget for Hamirpur Medical College, with no contribution from the BJP.
 
Sukhu, addressing a gathering in Nadaun after laying the foundation stone of the Rs 31.19-crore Sadhoorapattan Bridge, said the 250-metre double-lane bridge over the Beas, with a pedestrian footpath, would connect Dobar Kalan in Nadaun with Silah in Jwalamukhi. It would benefit more than 30,000 people in 15 gram panchayats of Nadaun and Jwalamukhi, besides residents of Sujanpur, by providing a direct link and reducing travel time.
 
Rejecting claims by Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, Sukhu said the medical college was approved during the tenure of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, with notification issued on January 22, 2014, and Rs 180 crore sanctioned by the Centre. He said forest clearance was secured during his tenure as MLA and the college would become operational within two months.
 
A Rs 500-crore cancer institute, with Japanese support, and a Rs 150-crore super-speciality block are also being developed. Automated laboratories costing about Rs 28 crore each are being established at all state medical colleges, with capacity to conduct up to 1,200 tests from a single sample.
 
Sukhu said Kangra was being developed as the state’s Tourism Capital and Hamirpur as its Education Capital. An Allied Healthcare College is coming up in Nadaun, while Himachal’s first Science College is being established in Hamirpur with Rs 100 crore. A Sports Centre of Excellence in Nadaun will be inaugurated in October.
 
Other projects include a Rs 150-crore Sukh Ashray complex, Rs 400-crore Beas riverfront with Beas Aarti, another bridge near Amtar and double-laning of district roads.
 
He said disaster compensation for completely damaged houses had been raised from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 8.5 lakh. The state is also providing support prices for naturally farmed produce, buying cow milk at Rs 61 and buffalo milk at Rs 71 per litre, and setting up a Rs 300-crore milk processing plant at Dhagwar, scheduled to become operational by year-end.
 
Sukhu accused the previous BJP government of neglecting the state and attempting to topple the elected government, and announced Rs 2 crore for a Panchayat Bhawan and Community Centre.