Atal Bihari Vajpayee always considered Himachal Pradesh as his second home, the Cabinet said.
Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to install a life-size statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Shimla’s historic Ridge and sent a proposal to the Centre to name the upcoming strategic Rohtang Tunnel after the late BJP leader.
During his tenure as the prime minister, Vajpayee had given the approval for the Rohtang Tunnel project, which aimed at providing an all-weather connectivity to the isolated Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. The Cabinet also decided to construct a memorial for Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Manali, where the late leader owned a house in Prini village.
The Cabinet, which met under Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur passed a resolution to condole the demise of Vajpayee and recalled his contributions for the state.
Read | ‘Atal ji understood Himachal’s problems… thinking of naming Rohtang Tunnel after him’
Describing Vajpayee as a multi-faceted personality, the resolution said apart from being a statesman, he was an outstanding orator, a poet and a passionate journalist. “The Cabinet appreciated his special benevolence for the State of Himachal Pradesh and its people, on whom he showered his love and affection by giving approval and sanction to various mega projects, of which the people had not even dreamt,” said a spokesman.
The Cabinet said, Vajpayee always considered Himachal Pradesh as his second home and the idea to construct Rohtang tunnel connecting landlocked hinterland Lahaul valley with rest of the world was conceived by him in 1998. The former prime minister had later announced the project on June 3, 2000.
In the meeting, it was decided to re-name the Mukhya Mantri Adarsh Vidya Kendra Scheme launched by the State Government as Atal Adarsh Vidya Kendra and Mukhya Mantri Aashirwad Scheme as Atal Aashirwad Scheme.
The Cabinet also decided to send a proposal to the Union Government to rename Kol Dam project in the name of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
As a mark of respect to the departed soul, the Cabinet members observed two minutes of silence during the meeting.
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