HP cabinet gives nod to ply buses within state from June 1
To have not more than 60% occupancy; educational institutes to remain shut for indefinite period
SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet in a meeting held under the chairmanship of chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday decided to resume inter-district and intra-district public transport, including state-run and private bus services, in the state from June 1.
The buses will be plied with 60% occupancy. Public transport is on a halt since March 24, when a country-wide lockdown was imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Inter-state public transport will remain prohibited.
The Cabinet further decided that the private schools in the state can charge only tuition fee from the students for the lockdown period.
Schools cannot hike tuition fees or include any hidden charges in it, education minister Suresh Bhardwaj said while informing about the major decision taken in the meeting.
He said that all the educational institutions will remain closed for an indefinite period until the decision is taken to open them.
The Cabinet also gave nod to implement recommendations of 15th Central Finance Commission in the state, under which of the total grants received from it, 70% would be provided to gram panchayats, and 15% each to the panchayat samitis and zila parishads respectively to carry out developmental works.
A decision was taken to upgrade veterinary hospital at Nagrota Bagwan in Kangra district to Zonal Veterinary Hospital along with creation and filling up of seven posts of different categories.The Cabinet also announced to launch ‘Rehabilitation of Stray Cattle’ scheme under which individuals and organisations will be encouraged to adopt stray cattle and provide assistance for running cow sanctuaries.
In the initial phase, ₹500 per cow will be provided under the scheme.The Cabinet also decided to establish three Fast
Track Special Courts at Shimla, Rampur, and Nahan to deal with the rape/Pocso cases for a period of one year.
It also gave nod to shift works transactions of Jal Shakti department and public works department to treasury mode by abolishing the Line of Credit (LOC) system from July 1 to bring transparency, accuracy, and efficiency in the payment and accounting process.The Cabinet gave its consent to extend the period of four Special Land Acquisition Units (SLAUs) for a period of one year with effect from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, along with permission to continue with staff already engaged.