Himachal Pradesh plans to use drones to monitor govt schemes, illegal mining & poaching

CHANDIGARH:  The Himachal Pradesh government is planning to use drones for surveillance of illegal mining, to monitor forests and wildlife, rescue stranded trekkers, manage traffic and carry payloads, besides supervising various schemes under implementation.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said there is a dire need to consider how the services of various government departments can be expedited by using technology. The world has entered an era of advanced technology and it is the need of the hour for the government to adopt modern practices for rapid growth and efficiency in all sectors, he said. 

The state government had last year given a nod to the Himachal Pradesh Drone Policy 2022, to use the equipment to check illegal mining and felling of trees, deliver medicines in remote areas, and spread micronutrients for crops. The policy envisaged creating a holistic drone ecosystem built upon the foundation of Governance and Reforms Using Drones (GARUD).

Meanwhile Sukhu, in a review meeting held on Friday, asked the transport authorities to convene meetings with the manufacturers of electric vehicles to discuss the modalities of using e-buses in place of the existing vehicles by getting rid of the entire fleet of HRTC buses in a phased manner. Sukhu said electric buses are running successfully on the local routes and by 2025, the entire fleet of HRTC will comprise e-buses. 

“I congratulate the transport department for replacing their fleet of existing official vehicles with electric ones,” Sukhu said, adding that Himachal will become the first Green Energy State in the country once all the government departments start plying e-vehicles.