Centre working against fedral structure: Dhumal

Chandigarh, Oct 13 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today said that the Central Government was imposing more authority on the states on various issues which was against the spirit of fedral structure of the country.

"Lately, the Central government has developed a tendency to treat education as subject in the central list and the government is centralising authority in medical and engineering education," the Chief Minister said while addressing National Integration Council meeting in New Delhi today.

"The seats for the native students have been drastically reduced in various professional colleges by the Central Government recently which has adversely affected the prospects of scheduled castes/tribes and minority students, the Chief Minister said.

Urging the Centre to improve the rail infrastructure in the state he said that so far only 33 kilo metre railway line had been constructed in the state after independence.

The Chief Minister said that the State Government had proposed Pathankot-Leh railway line keeping in view of the stragetic importance of the area bordering Tibet and added that it would provide easy movement to defence forces at international borders and will further generate tourism and economic activities in the region which will raise the socio-economic conditions of the people of snow bound backward areas.

He urged the government for early completion of the Nangal-Talwara railway line and also requested for undertaking Chandigarh-Baddi and Bhanupali -Barmana railways lines on priority basis.

Demanding extension of the industrial package to the state, he said that previous NDA regime had sanctioned ten years industrial package till the year 2013 to the state but its period was curtailed upto year 2007 by present UPA regime which was later on extended upto the year 2010. He demanded that industrial package should be extended up to the year 2013 to its original time limit.

He also requested the Centre to provide liberal financial assistance for providing modern technology and equipments to police force to meet the growing challenges and ensure peace and safety in border areas of the state.

The Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 2006 has been enacted in the state to prevent forcible conversions and added that community policing at beat, police station, sub division and district level had been started to build rapport for conducive enviorment so as to prevent forcible conversion in the state.

He said that state level vigilance and monitoring committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Minister to implement various central legislations like protection of civil rights act 1955, The SC/ST (prevention of atrocity act 1989) etc in the state and added that a protection cell had been set up under the control of the Director General Of Police for the same purpose.

He asked the Central Government to enact the POTA type laws to deal effectively with terrorist and disruptive activity and added that state government had issued necessary instructions to all law enforcing agencies to deal with FIRs relating to communal problems effectively and added that such FIRs were treated as special reported cases in which necessary action was initiated immediately.

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