Himachal Pradesh makes adequate arrangements for marketing apples

The Himachal Pradesh government has made adequate arrangements for smooth transportation and marketing of apple in spite of bumper crop which is likely to cross three crore boxes mark, chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said today.

He said the criticism by some opposition leaders regarding inept handling of marketing problems was totally "uncalled for and unwaranted".

Talking to reporters, he said that besides ensuring the availability of trucks, the government has also deployed about 600 police personnel in apple-growing areas to regulate traffic.

Replying to a question, the chief minister said the proposed regulatory commission to keep a vigil on functioning of private educational institutions and universities would ensure that no irregularities were committed and guidelines and directions of government and other statutory bodies like UGC, NCTE, AITEC etc were complied with.

Defending the setting up of a large number of universities in private sector, the chief minister said the main aim was to enable easy access to students of the state to higher education.

He cautioned that the institutions which failed to become functional within the stipulated time or failed to fulfill the conditions set by the government would have to forgo the land allotted to them. There was also a provision to impose fines up to Rs5 crore, he added.

The government would ensure that 25 to 50% seats in these universities were reserved for Himachalis.