The State Cabinet, in its meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu held here on Saturday, decided to invite objections and suggestions from the general public on the proposed amendments to Rules 28, 87, 88 and 89 of the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Elections) Rules, 1994.
The proposed amendments provide that Panchayats which have remained reserved continuously for two consecutive terms since the base year 2010 will not be reserved in the forthcoming Panchayat elections.
A spokesman here said the Cabinet also approved amendments to the Social Security Pension Rules, 2010 by redefining the term ‘destitute’ in a clearer manner and simplifying the certification process for availing benefits. Under the revised provisions, women abandoned by their husbands, who are not living with them and have no independent source of income, will be considered destitute women.
It also gave its nod to cancel 15 hydroelectric projects that failed to start despite availing the benefit of the one-time amnesty scheme. The Cabinet decided to allot the 10 MW Small Hydro Electric Project at Pandoh to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), subject to the return of unused land by the BBMB to the state government. The state government will receive 13 per cent free power and 5 per cent power as its share from the BBMB.
The spokesman said the Cabinet decided to extend 40 percent of the Local Area Development Fund under the Swaran Jayanti Energy Policy for providing financial assistance to children of the state.
It further approved the Operation and Maintenance Policy for handing over in-village infrastructure of both Single Village Schemes and Multi Village Schemes to Gram Panchayats.
The spokesman said the Cabinet approved the constitution of the Regional Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited at Dhagwar, comprising milk producers from the districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Chamba and Una. Additionally, the National Dairy Development Board will be engaged as the Administrator for the management and operation of the Dhagwar Milk Processing Plant.
The Cabinet also approved the enhancement of Heli-Taxi services on the Chandigarh–Shimla–Chandigarh route from three sorties to twelve sorties per week, with flights to be operated twice daily for six days a week. The state government will provide viability gap funding to support the operation.
It decided to release the salary of outsourced employees engaged under the Jal Jeevan Mission in the Jal Shakti Vibhag from state resources, as the Government of India has not released funds under the mission.
The Cabinet approved filling up 60 posts of Junior Assistant Professors in various Government Engineering and Pharmacy Colleges in the Department of Technical Education. It also gave nod to fill two posts of Assistant Registrar Cooperative Societies and 30 posts of Inspector Cooperative Societies in the Department of Cooperation.
The Cabinet further decided to fill 16 posts of coaches in the Sports Hostels under the Education Department and three posts of Junior Office Assistant (IT) in the Information and Public Relations Department.
Also read: Youth rapes five-year-old girl in Bilaspur
Follow us
