Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday said that his main agenda for the coming years was to develop the state as the tourism capital of India.

He disclosed this in the Agenda Aaj Tak-2023 programme organized by India Today Group at New Delhi on Wednesday.

He said that restoration work was done on war footing after the destruction caused by the natural calamity and that the state was ready for welcoming the tourists during this winter and all seasons to come.

He extended invitation to the domestic and foreign tourists through India Today platform to visit Himachal Pradesh to enjoy the immense treasured natural scenic beauty of the state relax in solitude.

While speaking in the session ‘Ek Saal Kitna Asardar’, the Chief Minister detailed his commitment to the people of the state and focus areas of his government besides major decisions and policies framed by the state government.

He said that the foremost priority, after taking over the reins of Himachal Pradesh as the Chief Minister was to improve the derailed financial health of the state and added that he envisaged making Himachal Pradesh as the most prosperous state of the country within next ten years.

Efforts were being undertaken to ensure proper management of funds and an endeavour towards improvement of financial condition of the state will be witnessed soon, he added.

Three guarantees have been fulfilled in the first one year of the government and the rest will be fulfilled in the coming four years in a phased manner.

The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) was implemented with a humane motive, so that the life after retirement of the employees could be secured, said Sukhu.

“The first phase of e-taxi scheme has been started under the Rs. 680 crore, ‘Rajiv Gandhi Self-Employment Start-up Scheme’. Under the scheme, the state government was providing a 50 percent subsidy to the youth for the purchase of e-taxi and they will also be ensured fixed income besides promoting green energy in the state,” he said.

The English medium will be introduced in all government institutions from the next session in order to improve the quality of education in the state, he said.

“The state government adopted 4,000 orphans as ‘Children of the State’, made the law, the first of its kind in the country for their welfare. We launched ‘Mukhya Mantri Sukh-Aashraya Yojana’ under which our government is providing proper assistance for the care and higher education of such children till they attain the age of 27 years,” he reiterated.

The Chief Minister said that the state government would give Rs 1,500 from January, 2024 to all the women of district Lahaul-Spiti who were over 18 years of age.

The promise made to all the women of the state would also be met in a phased manner. The he state government will bear the expenses for higher education of children of widows from the next fiscal, he added.

The state witnessed the worst natural calamity during the monsoon season and the state despite its limited resources had announced a special package of Rs 4,500 crore, so that the affected people can get relief by claiming adequate assistance.

He said that tourists who were stuck in remote areas were evacuated safely, roads and bridges, which are the lifelines of the hill state, were also restored on war footing.