The Himachal Pradesh government will not hire people on outsourced basis for the proposed 5,000 vacancies in the Jal Shakti department, but introduce a policy in order to regularise their services in future, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri said on Tuesday in the assembly.
Agnihotri, who also holds the Jal Shakti portfolio, was replying to a discussion on the cut motion moved by the BJP.
He said the government has opened half a dozen offices of Jal Shakti department, which were earlier closed. The government would also review the decision related to the other institutions and necessary offices will be reopened by bringing an action plan in the cabinet meeting, he said.
Agnihotri said these vacancies in the department will be in addition to 8,370 posts announced by the previous government.
He said the state government is soon going to provide round-the-clock drinking water in Dalhousie, making it first such town to have this facility.
Saying that the government is focusing on irrigation, he said the tender process has been changed to speed up development works. He clarified that no tender process or payment has been stopped in the department.
Water cess: ‘Opposition of Punjab, Haryana is purely political’
Agnihotri said the opposition of Punjab and Haryana on the issue of imposition of water cess is purely political.
“The 7.19% state share in the BBMB projects is the right of Himachal as per the Punjab Reorganisation Act. Himachal has imposed water cess within the boundary of the state. This is going to be a long battle and we would fight for our right,” Agnihotri said, adding that injustice was meted out to Himachal at the time of reorganisation.
Earlier, MLA Inder Singh Gandhi had sought channelisation of Suketi Khad and said mining mafia is active in his area and drinking water schemes are being affected by illegal mining.
Randhir Sharma raised the issue of irrigation wing of Jal Shakti department, which was opened by the previous government, and alleged that the present government discontinued it. Satpal Singh Satti raised the issue of poor drainage system in his constituency Una while JR Katwal demanded to stop the leakage of drinking water pipes and pay attention to their repair.
Balbir Singh Verma demanded installation of protection wall in the ravine adjacent to Nerwa market in Chaupal. Later, the House rejected the cut motions by voice vote.
