Living to the strong expectation of the his own party, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today announced Rs 1000 unemployment allowance for the jobless youth. Earlier CM has been loggerheads with his own party members on the issue since long terming the party demands unpractical.
While making budget announcement in the State Assembly Mr. Singh gave surprises not only to opposition benches but the treasury benches he made reference of this scheme in the House during his budget speech today. As per the announcement made by the CM said that jobless youth having 10+2 and above qualifications would get an unemployment allowance at the rate of Rs 1,000 per month. The allowance for jobless disabled will be higher and they will get Rs 1500 per month.
His ‘critics’ from within have been pushing hard on the fulfillment of this promise made in party manifesto in 2012. CM Virbhadra Singh too, for the past one week, had been hinting at a nod to the demand in the budget. State Government has made a provision of 150 crore for the implementation of the scheme for the year 2017-18. CM said that 1.55 lac youth were expected to cover under the unemployment allowance scheme in the next financial year.
He also said that the allowance would be separate from the skill development allowance, for which the government had made a provision of 100 crore for the next fiscal. He made it clear that the beneficiaries of skill development allowance would not be eligible for getting the benefit of unemployment allowance. He said that issue of unemployment allowance has been simmering in the party, as CM Virbhadra Singh in the past had said that implementing the promise was neither feasible, nor affordable.
Transport Minister G S Bali had strongly advocated for the implementation of this poll promise. Bali had got support from the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, Chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who had assured party men that all the manifesto promises would be fulfilled. Just yesterday, CM Virbhadra Singh had said that he intended to give unemployment allowance and would implement it, as and when the financial resources of the state allow.
