Himachal Pradesh: Scripting success

For a state that walked the path of development and industrialisation far later than its neighbouring states, Himachal Pradesh has done fairly well and has set high standards for itself for the future. "It's been a tough terrain," says Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. "We have progressed inch by inch, rock by rock."Education has a primary focus in the state.Education has always been a primary focus in the state, with health and roads following close behind. Not content with its enrolment rate of over 20 per cent for higher education (the highest in the country and twice the national average of about 10 per cent), Dhumal is aiming for the 50 per cent mark. An IIT, a Central university and a National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) are on the anvil. Three private universities have arrived and six more are set to step in. With a literacy rate much higher (76.5 in 2001 Census) than the national rate, the state has been able to bring down the dropout rate in primary and upper primary education to 0.01.Himachal Pradesh has believed that roads drive its economy. The state Government is planning to provide all-weather connectivity to villages with a population of over 250 by 2012. In 1948, there were just 288 km of motorable roads; today, 30,000 km of roads are metalled. In 20 months of taking over, the Dhumal Government has already constructed 91 bridges.But the state has a huge debt burden of about Rs 20,000 crore and its hope hinges on hydropower. The identified hydel potential of the Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj and Yamuna passing through the state is estimated to be about 23,000 MW, about 25 per cent of the total hydel potential of the country. An estimated 6,000 MW has been harnessed and projects with an aggregate capacity of about 1,300 MW are under various stages of implementation.State politicians are demanding an extension of the special industrial package granted by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003 to its original term of 10 years to avoid a disaster. Under the package, the excise duty exemption was set to expire by March 2010. The exemption had attracted multinational investors. "We are geographically disadvantaged; no sea ports, no rail network. The Government can't discriminate and continue to give a package to Jammu and Kashmir for terrorism and violence," says Dhumal. Union Steel Minister and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh says that there is insecurity in the investors' minds because of the uncertainty of that package. Despite that, 97 projects worth Rs 7,938 crore have been approved in the past 19 months. For this hill state, the way is forward. .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Published By: AtMigration Published On: Sep 18, 2009--- ENDS ---

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Himachal Pradesh: Scripting success

For a state that walked the path of development and industrialisation far later than its neighbouring states, Himachal Pradesh has done fairly well and has set high standards for itself for the future.

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