Shimla. Multiple major decisions were made during the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday. The meeting focused on solving public issues and empowering government departments.
Now, disaster-affected families in the state will receive ₹1 lakh as compensation for damage to household goods, up from the earlier ₹70,000. For homes completely destroyed by fire, a special assistance package of ₹7 lakh has been approved. The Air Force has been sanctioned ₹4.32 crore for providing helicopter services during disasters.
Other key cabinet decisions include:
- Restructuring of panchayats in the state.
- Provision of 150 days of employment under MGNREGA for state residents.
- Up to ₹2 lakh as aid for construction of retaining walls for personal works.
- Recruitment of 1000 new patient care attendants in health institutions to improve service quality.
- Creation and recruitment of 800 new constable posts in the police department.
- Approval for opening new sub-fire stations in Kandaghat (Solan) and Rajgarh (Sirmaur) with 46 new posts and four new fire tenders.
- 150 junior engineers (civil) to be appointed as job trainees in Jal Shakti and PWD.
- Approval for creation of nine super specialty departments and 73 posts at Dr. Radhakrishnan Government Medical College, Hamirpur.
- 27 senior resident posts for super specialty departments at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Tanda.
- A new police post and related posts sanctioned for Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College, Nerchowk.
- Creation of five new Junior Office Assistant (IT) posts in the police.
- Five new posts for digital forensic facility at Regional Forensic Science Lab, Dharamshala (North Range).
- Pension for all persons with 40% or more disability, removal of eligibility restriction for those whose parents are in government service or pensioners.
- 40% subsidy to convert 1,000 petrol/diesel taxis to electric under Rajiv Gandhi Self-Employment Startup Yojana-2023.
- Merging the Anti-Narcotics Task Force into a unified Special Task Force under the Home Department, with new anti-drug campaigns at the panchayat level.
- Approval for the purchase of 10 electric bikes for highway patrolling as part of road safety efforts.
- Creation of a new revenue circle, Bankhandi, through the division of Haripur and Bilaspur revenue circles in Haripur tehsil, Kangra.
- Powers to the Forest Department to issue intent letters for mineral concessions on forest land.
- Expansion of the Chief Minister’s Small Shopkeeper Welfare Scheme to cover urban shopkeepers and retailers with under ₹10 lakh annual turnover; NPA shopkeepers to receive up to ₹1 lakh settlement via bank, covered by the state.
- Approval for restructuring Bamsan and Hamirpur development blocks in Hamirpur district.
- Hamirpur Government College to be converted into a dedicated science college, with the launch of an integrated B.Ed (B.Sc.) unit.
- Merging two senior secondary schools of Hamirpur to be transformed into a co-educational senior secondary institution.
- Four-year integrated B.Ed. programs to be started at government colleges in Dharamshala, Nadaun, Chailkot, and Tikker (Shimla).
- Start of two-year B.P.Ed. at Saraswati Nagar College, Shimla, new subjects at Loharab College of Fine Arts, and conversion of Haripur Guler college, Kangra, into a fine arts college.
- Approval for DPC to promote 805 government school principals, to be chaired by the Secretary (Education).
These decisions are seen as transformative steps toward comprehensive progress in disaster relief, healthcare, education, law and order, social security, and employment in the state. Officials stated that these structural and policy changes will directly benefit the people of Himachal Pradesh.
