Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday said a special campaign will be launched to sensitise the people about the importance of mother-child health as this was vital for a healthy society and prosperous state.

Addressing the workshop on ‘Poshan and Cooperative Federalism’ organised by NITI Aayog and the state government, he said greater awareness must be created at the grass-root level so that nutrition could be made a mass movement.

“The state government has completed the training of Anganwari workers and now 18,925 Anganwari and 5,99,643 beneficiaries are being registered on the nutrition tracker.  For the management of severely malnourished and moderately malnourished children, a standard operating procedure has been prepared in coordination with the HP National Health Mission and Women and Child Development department,” he added.

Thakur stated that the state government was committed to making Himachal a most favoured tourist destination as nature has blessed the state with immense natural potential, but connectivity remains a biggest challenge.

The 15th Finance Commission has made state-specific recommendations for Himachal which includes Rs 400 crore for expansion and up-gradation of Kangra Airport, Rs 1,000 crore for Greenfield Airport in Mandi district, Rs 20 crore for improvement of water supply and sewerage facilities of Jawalamukhi temple.

Since Himachal was a revenue deficit state and did not have resources for investment in these infrastructure projects, liberal assistance was required to achieve the desired results, the CM said.

He further stated that regarding railway connectivity, the land acquisition cost was the biggest challenge.

He also felt the need to compensate the state in this matter so that the rail network could be strengthened in the state. He said that the state government has framed its own Electric Vehicle policy, to promote a sustainable transport system for making HP a global hub for electric mobility development and manufacturing of electric vehicles.

The policy also aims to create public and private charging infrastructure for electric vehicles besides providing subsidies and incentives to the electric vehicle manufacturing industries.

He added that the state was spending a major chunk of its budget allocation on the social services sector with a stress on food and fruit processing to ensure better prices of their products to the farmers and horticulturists.

“In view of the federal structure of India, the role of NITI Aayog has been important in ensuring better coordination between the states and the Centre,” he added.

He thanked the NITI Aayog for approving the proposals for external assistance sent by the state government to the Central government, with positive comments in a very short time.