category Regional, kangra, , tags Regional, kangra, , DW BUREAU Kangra While presiding over the closing ceremony of Accuracy Paragliding Pre-World Cup at Bir of Kangra district, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that Bir-Billing was the world s best site for paragliding, which has gained international recognition. He said that Bir would be promoted from the point of view of tourism and a proposal would be prepared soon and to facilitate better organization of paragliding competitions, land would be acquired around the landing site. The Chief Minister said that the state government would consider organizing a carnival in Bir, in order to promote tourism. Along with this, he announced to upgrade Police Chowki Bir to Police Station and said that in future Polytechnic College would be opened in Baijnath, in which new technical courses would be introduced. He said that soon the state government would announce to make Kangra the tourism capital, for which the complete blueprint was being prepared. The airport was being expanded to promote tourism in Kangra, he added. He said that in order to improve the environment of Himachal Pradesh, a provision has been made in the budget to give 50 percent subsidy on the purchase of e-trucks, e-buses and e-taxi. He said that the taxi operators of Bir would be given e-taxi licenses, which would also increase their income. He said that 20,000 meritorious girl students would be given a subsidy of Rs. 25,000 for the purchase of e-scooties. He said that the state government was moving towards making Himachal a green energy state and despite the economic condition of the state in disarray it would not be allowed to slow down the pace of development of all. Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the state government has presented the budget in view of the bright future of the youth and strengthening the rural economy. He said that a 40 percent subsidy was being provided for setting up solar power plants from 250 KW to 2 MW, so that the youth get self-employment opportunities and to make them self-reliant. Apart from this, loans would be provided to poor students for higher education at one percent interest, so that no youth was deprived of education due to lack of money. Apart from this, in the first phase, financial assistance of Rs. 1.5 lakh would be provided to 7000 single women to build houses. For the first time, the thinking of increasing the revenue was reflected in the budget of the state government, he added. The Chief Minister said that about 95 percent of the people in Himachal Pradesh live in rural areas, so efforts have been made in the budget to strengthen the rural economy. The state cannot move forward without the development of villages, so efforts have been made to strengthen the rural economy in the budget. He said that the Medical College Tanda was being upgraded and was going to start Robotic Surgery in the next six months. Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that in the first phase 2.31 lakh women were being given pension of Rs. 1500 per month and in the coming time, the state government would fulfill the promise of giving pension to all eligible women. He said that the Mukhya Mantri Sukh-Aashray Act has been enacted to give legal rights to orphan children, so that the state government ensures better care for them. The Chief Minister congratulated the Billing Paragliding Association for organizing the event. Earlier, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Kishori Lal welcomed the Chief Minister and said that he has taken major steps to improve the economy of Himachal Pradesh, so that the state could become self-reliant. He said that Himachal was going to get the Shanan Power Project in the year 2024 after the lease expires with Punjab. (editor dailyworld.in)