Shimla/Dharamshala (HP), Dec 21 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday paid a surprise visit to the Information Technology (IT) Park at Chaitaru in Kangra district and asked officials to complete the project by 2024.

Sukhu underscored the potential for job creation for local youth through the IT Park and instructed the district administration to provide all basic amenities such as roads, electricity, and water in the complex so that the construction company does not face any inconvenience in their work and meeting the deadline, a statement issued here said.

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The Rs 17-crore IT park is spread across around two acres, it added.

The chief minister said around 100 companies have expressed interest in establishing their offices in the IT Park, operating on a plug-and-play basis.

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He highlighted the government's ongoing efforts to position Kangra as a thriving IT hub, thereby catalysing the overall development of the state.

He asked the officials concerned to ensure that the project is completed by 2024 end, the statement added.

Earlier in the day, Sukhu laid the foundation stone of the office building of the Block Development Officer to be constructed with an outlay of Rs 5.36 crore at Rait in Shahpur assembly constituency of Kangra district.

Addressing a public meeting, he said the state government has already fulfilled three of its poll guarantees in its one-year regime, whereas the previous BJP government cheated the people of the state in their five years of rule.

When the state implemented the old pension scheme for the government employees, the Centre refused to extend the righteous assistance and also reduced the loan limit provided to the state, therefore burdening the state with a revenue loss of Rs 1,780 crore, the statement quoted Sukhu as saying.

He added that the Central government was also reluctant to return the New Pension Scheme (NPS) money of the employees.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)