Himachal Pradesh: CM Sukhu chairs State Cabinet meeting, approves filling up medical posts

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], December 30 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu chaired the State Cabinet meeting and decided to fill up 53 posts of Assistant Professors and 121 posts of different categories in all the medical colleges of the State to strengthen the health sector.
These posts include teaching and non-teaching faculties and paramedical staff. In addition, the Cabinet approved the creation of 600 posts of Assistant Staff Nurses through the HP Rajya Chayan Aayog, Hamirpur, under the Assistant Staff Nursing Policy.
It also gave a nod to pay incentive at 20% of basic pay for the faculty doctors who have acquired the qualification of Doctorate of Medicine (DoM) and Master of Chirurgiae (MCh).
It was also approved to fill 40 vacant posts of job trainees and Junior Engineer (Civil) in Jal Shakti Vibhag, and 10 posts of block development officer in the Department of Rural Development, through direct recruitment.
The Cabinet also approved the creation of a dedicated Sub Cadre for CBSE schools, with defined recruitment, training, tenure, and performance evaluation norms, in 100 identified schools of the State.
It decided to include children enrolled and studying at Tong-Len School, Dharamshala, and children of Disabled parents, either both parents or a single surviving parent with a disability of 70% or more, under the ambit of the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Aashray Yojna. It also decided to include those children under Sukh Ashray Yojna whose either one parent is dead and the other has left the children to grow for themselves.
The Cabinet approved the development of a world-class township at Shitalpur on the border of Himachal and Chandigarh.
It decided to amend Rule 3 of the Himachal Pradesh Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017, to regulate and promote the real estate sector, bring transparency to the real estate business, and ensure speedy dispute redressal.
The Cabinet approved the proposal to utilise the Skill Development Institution Building of the Buildings and Other Construction Welfare Board at Palkwah Khas in Una district and to shift the SDRF to this complex.
A project proposal for resilient livelihoods, Sustainable Small Ruminant and Empowered Himalayan Shepherds under Pastoralists Employment in Himalayan Ecosystems for Livelihoods (PEHEL), was also approved. A new Act is to be introduced for the smooth movement of pastorals, and all forest land and meadows are to be opened for Gaddis' livestock.
It decided to set up milk processing plants at Nahan, Nalagarh, Mohal, and Rohru; a milk chilling centre at Jalari in Hamirpur district; a bulk milk cooler at Jhalera in district Una; and similar infrastructure at Karsog and Pangi by MILKFED and the National Dairy Development Board.
It also approved a cash credit limit of Rs. 60 crores for HP MILKFED Limited to meet the enhanced working capital requirements arising from increased milk procurement costs during 2025-26 and 2026-27. A separate account for the milk cess will be opened to enable regular milk payments to farmers.
The Cabinet approved the adoption of the Functional Equivalence Model (FEM), treating posts of Assistant and Associate Professors in Applied Sciences and Humanities as functionally interchangeable across all five Government Engineering Colleges under the Directorate of Technical Education. Functional interchangeability shall not constitute a transfer or deputation, and all existing sanctioned posts shall form a single academic pool.
Approval was granted to establish the University of Multidisciplinary Institute of Innovation, Skill, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Research (MIISTER) at Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district, under a Public-Private Partnership model, to promote a digitally skilled and entrepreneurial workforce.
The Cabinet approved the proposal to amend the Himachal Pradesh Land Preservation Act, 1978, to regulate the felling of dried chir trees which have dried due to natural calamities, disease or insect attack, etc., with the approval of the competent authority.
Approval was given to revise the Rajiv Gandhi Laghu Dukandar Sukh Kalyan Yojna-Shahri, under which business loans up upto Rs. 2 lakh, availed by small shopkeepers, are declared as Non-Performing Assets by banks. The beneficiary shall be entitled to one-time settlement assistance of up to one lakh rupees to be borne by the State Government.
The shifting of the headquarters of the Himachal Pradesh State Commission for Backwards Classes from Shimla to Dharamshala, and the setting up of a Drug De-addiction centre at Malot, Indora, in the district of Kangra, were also approved.
The Cabinet also approved granting relaxation to those under-construction Lok Bhawans in any assembly constituency under the Mukhya Mantri Lok Bhawan Yojna.
The Cabinet approved an amendment in the Swaran Jayanti Energy Policy-2021 according to which it is approved to extend the relaxation for levying free power royalty at a reduced uniform rate of 12 per cent free power plus one per cent Local Area Development Fund (as already approved for projects where Implementation Agreements have not been signed) to projects with a capacity up to 25 MW where Implementation Agreements have already been signed, except for projects whose Power Purchase Agreements have already been executed with HPSEBL. This relaxation shall not apply to projects that are already stand-commissioned.
The Cabinet also approved the reallocation of equity power shares in SJVNL projects (Nathpa Jhakri and Rampur Hydro Power Station) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh for further sale through the Directorate of Energy. It also approved the employment of 28 incumbents on compassionate grounds in the Education Department. It also approved modern commercial complexes at Mohal Mauja Panol Shahri and Auhar in Ghumarwin of Bilaspur district.
The Cabinet approved the Himachal Pradesh Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness Project, to be implemented by the French Development Agency, for five years, with an outlay of Rs. 892 crores.
He also approved a subsidy for the purchase of 18-42-seater buses for deployment and operation as stage carriage services under the Rajiv Gandhi Swarojgar Start Up Yojna. (ANI)