DW BUREAU / shimla Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the State Government was committed to provide Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to the employees of the State in the very first Cabinet meeting. He said that the Congress Party has given 10 guarantees to the people of the State in its manifesto during the general assembly elections recently and the Government would implement all these guarantees in a phased manner. The Chief Minister was addressing a delegation of NPS Employees here today. Chief Minister said that the previous BJP Government have made unmindful expenditures and opened over 900 institutions in fag end of its tenure. It would create an additional burden of Rs. 5000 crore per annum. He said that the BJP Government made unmindful expenditure during its tenure with an eye on the polls. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the formula has to be evolved so that the pensioners could get regular and respectable pension. He said that the State Government has written to the Government of India to clear its due amount collected under NPS contribution. President NPS Employees Association Pradeep Thakur, while welcoming the Chief Minister, said that the employees would be indebted to the decision of the State Government to implement OPS in the State. He said that the State Government and Employees were contributing Rs. 1632 crore per annum to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) which was a huge amount. Former Vice President Employees Welfare Board Surinder Mankotia also gave his suggestions on the occasion. Principal Advisor, Media to the Chief Minister Naresh Chauhan, MLAs Sanjay Awasthi, Anirudh Singh and Ajay Solanki, Chief Secretary R.D Dhiman, Additional Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena and representatives of NPS Employees were present on the occasion. Keep strict vigil on number of corona cases in State: Chief Minister Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the officers of the Health Department to keep strict vigil on the number of corona cases in the State and also keep the men and machinery ready to meet any possible surge in the Covid-19 cases. Chief Minister was presiding over a meeting of Health Officers to review Covid-19 situation in the State. He said that strengthening of genome sequencing of positive case samples must also be ensured. He said that special vigil must be kept to persuade the visitors to adopt Covid-19 appropriate behaviour during their stay in the State. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that people with flu-like symptoms must be tested for Covid-19 so that treatment could be started at the earliest. He said that adequate testing must be ensured in the health institutions in the State. Principal Secretary Health Subhasish Panda informed the Chief Minister that there were over 2526 dedicated beds with oxygen and 2046 dedicated Covid beds in the State. He said that efforts would be made to ensure sufficient availability of Covid vaccines. Mission Director NHM Hemraj Bairwa made a detailed presentation on the occasion and said that there were only 28 active Covid cases in the State out of which only three were in hospitals. (editor@dailyworld.in)