First Budget of Cong govt will be people-centric: CM Sukhu

HAMIPUR: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday in Nadaun said that the first budget of his government will be ''people-centric'' and the change will be for all to see in a year.

The government was maintaining financial discipline considering the overall fiscal position of the state and few stringent decisions will have to be taken to bring it back on track, he said. ''Wait for one year, you will find change in the system,'' Sukhu said addressing people in his home constituency, which he reached five hours ahead of the schedule.

The Chief Minister said the government was committed to work for the welfare of every last man in the state. He assured the people that there won't be a dearth of funds for the construction of Dr Radhakrishnan Medical College in Hamirpur and it will be equipped with the latest technology to become the model health institution from the state.

The government will open a nursing college in the premises of the medical college, he added. Earlier in the day, Sukhu also announced that the Salauni to Deotsidh road will be made double-lane. He also warned the drug and mining mafias in the state and indicated that a crackdown against them may be in works. He said the government will ensure that the youths from the state are not cheated in the name of jobs. The suspension of the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission was a first step in the direction, he added.

Earlier, accompanied by his wife Kamlesh Kumari, he prayed at the Baba Balak Nath temple here and also took part in a havan. The temple trust led by Deputy Commissioner Debasweta Banik handed over a replica of Baba Balak Nath in the shape of a memento to the Chief Minister, a release issued here said on Sunday. ''I announce to double line the main road from Salauni to Deotsidh,'' He also announced making a policy soon to regularise the employees working in the trust for 27 years.