Headlines
Himachal BJP objects to renaming central scheme after Rajiv Gandhi
Shimla, Aug 23
The opposition BJP in Himachal
Pradesh on Sunday slammed the state government for changing the name of a
central scheme and renaming it in the state after Congress leader and
late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Two schemes -- Domestic
Efficient Lighting Programme and Energy Efficient Smart Street Lighting
Programme -- were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save
energy, Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal said in a statement.
Dhumal
-- a former chief minister from the BJP -- said these schemes were
being implemented across the country under these names.
It was
unfortunate that the Congress government in the state has changed the
name of the Energy Efficient Smart Street Lighting Programme as Rajiv
Gandhi Illuminating Scheme for Hill Town Advancement (RISHTA) to take
political benefit, the two-time chief minister said.
As a tribute
to Rajiv Gandhi on his 71st birth anniversary on August 20, Chief
Minister Virbhadra Singh launched the LED-based streetlight project in
Shimla named RISHTA that aims to replace 63,484 lights in 56 urban
development bodies.
Dhumal said the Domestic Efficient Lighting
Programme should be implemented on the pattern of the CFL distribution
scheme launched by the then BJP state government in 2008.
He said LED bulbs should be distributed free of cost to all electricity consumers in the state.
Poor
consumers would not be able to bear the cost of LED bulbs as the cost
of the monthly installment will be more than their monthly electricity
bills, he sa