HP to develop new hill station, says CM

Shimla, Apr 20 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said an extensive survey was on to identify a suitable location for developing a ''new hill station'' in the state.

Talking to mediapersons after inaugurating a call centre of Padmavati Balaji Info Solutions here yesterday, Mr Singh said the need for developing a new hill station was felt since all prominent hill stations were developed during the British period and the tourism potential of the state had since increased manifold.

''There is an urgent need to develop a new station since basic infrastructure in the hill stations of Shimla, Dalhousie, Khajjiar and Chamba was falling short with the passage of time,'' the chief minister said.

A survey was being undertaken to identify a suitable location for the setting up of a new hill station with the necessary infrastructure, he said.

He said since there was no scope of extending the existing hill town beyond, new constructions were being discouraged.

Within Shimla, the state government was proposing to ban all new constructions in the British town, while allowing only reconstruction of the existing buildings, he said.

Besides, no new construction would be allowed in the periphery of the town after the third phase of development was over.

People wishing to construct houses would have to move to the satellite towns, he added.

Instead, the government was developing new satellite townships at different places of the state to decongest the existing towns, he said.

The Chief Minister informed that detailed project reports were being prepared to ensure that all such townships were self-contained and capable of catering to the requirements of the people for a long time.

Possibilities were being explored to develop towns of Mandi, Dharamshala, Chamba, Una, Kullu, Solan and Nahan, he said and added that the proposal would considerably reduce the pressure on the basic amenities in these towns.

He said services of reputed architects and developers would be requisitioned while developing these towns in the best possible modern manner.

UNI