HIMACHAL PRADESH

The gaddi dance has got the third place in the category of crop harvesting in a competition organised during the National Tribal Festival at Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The participants of 52 cultural troupes of the country participated in the competition and presented a glimpse of varied culture of their regions.

Lauding the cultural troupe, Rana said it was a matter of pride for Himachal that Gaddi dance of Chamba district had got the national recognition. He also asked the cultural troupe to enhance the talent.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur presided over the launching ceremony of Rs 1,010.60 crore phase-II of the HP Crop Diversification Promotion Project (HPCDP) supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at Dharamsala.

He said that the government was committed to the development of rural areas as more than 90 per cent of the total Population of the state lives in villages and about 70 per cent of the population was dependent on the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture sector for livelihood. Despite limited financial Resources and the slowdown due to the pandemic, the government had launched various new schemes to promote Irrigation, agriculture, , Forestry and allied sectors, besides ensuring all-round and equitable development of the state, he added.

The Chief Minister said that the main objective of the project was to disseminate a successful model of crop diversification and increase the area under vegetable cultivation in the project area from 2,500 hectares to 7,000 hectares by 2031. He added that the government was mobilising funds from all possible sources, including the Central Government, external funding agencies like the JICA, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

He said that there was a huge potential for the cultivation of off-season vegetables in the region. The State Government had created a strong Network of market yards to ensure remunerative prices to the farmers, but still a lot more was required to be done so that farmers could have an easy access to markets for Marketing their products and getting better prices.

The phase-II of the JICA-aided crop diversification project is to be implemented in all 12 districts of the state.

It will give boost to the socio-economic status of farmers.

The phase-I of the project being implemented in Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Una on a pilot basis since 2011 has transformed the economy of the farmers.

The government is mobilising funds from all possible sources, including the Centre, external funding agencies like the JICA, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

According to sources, the project will cost around Rs 790 crore.

The official further said that five towns Manali, Karsog, Bilaspur, Nahan and Palampur had been selected for the project. Apart from setting up a sewerage, the existing water supply system will be improved under this project. The per capita water supply of 70 litre per day will be enhanced to 135 litre per day, he said. In Manali, the six adjoining panchayats will be brought under the ambit of the project, he said.

The project aims at providing a round-the-clock high pressure water supply to Shimla residents, a bulk water scheme from the Sutlej that will provide an additional 67 MLD and improving and enhancing the sewerage in and around Shimla. The project is expected to take care of the citys water and sewerage requirement until 2050.

The Governor said that keeping in mind the NEP, there was a need to move forward in the https://exam.pscnotes.com/Education-sector”>Education sector. He also stressed the need to have separate arrangements for special children. He appreciated that the state had almost achieved the target of first vaccination dose for the teachers. He also lauded the efforts of the department that online classes were being conducted regularly.

The seems to have toughened its stand after Punjabs opposition to the Central Governments decision to waive the no objection certificate (NOC) condition for the withdrawal of water by Himachal from BBMB projects for Irrigation purpose. It may now seek 7.19 per cent share in other sectors as well.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today said, Himachal will seek its legitimate 7.19 per cent share as per the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 in every sector, be it in Chandigarh or the royalty from BBMB projects.

The state government toughens stand after Punjab opposed the Centres decision to waive the NOC condition for the withdrawal of water by Himachal from BBMB projects for irrigation purpose

Sukhvinder Sukhu has been demanding royalty from BBMB projects so as to raise revenue for the cash-strapped state, which is under a debt of Rs 75,000 crore

After witnessing public outrage over frequent increase in fees and other charges by private schools in Himachal Pradesh, the has finalised the draft for bringing in a legislation to regulate the fee structure in these schools. After Delhi, Himachal will be the second state in North to introduce such a legislation.

A high-level committee, headed by the Education Minister, has already submitted its report to the government, which will now be presented before the state Cabinet for its approval so that a necessary law is enacted in the monsoon session of the state Assembly next month.

The draft of Himachal Pradesh Private Schools (Regulation of Fee and Other Related Matters) Bill, 2021, has already been uploaded on the website of the state Education Department for seeking suggestions and objections from public.

According to the draft Bill, the private schools shall determine their fee structure based on their operational expenses, augmentation of facilities, expansion of Infrastructure and facilities provided to students in order to generate reasonable surplus to be utilised for the development of education.

The draft Bill proposes that private schools shall upload the statements of fees on their websites 60 days prior to the commencement of each academic year

No school shall enhance the fee by more than six per cent in an academic session. Besides, students shall be at Liberty to purchase books, bags and uniform etc from the open market.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu reviewed the progress of various ongoing National Highway (NH) projects in the state focusing on resolving issues related to land compensation, clearances of FRA (Forest Rights Act) and FCA (Forest conservation Act), and other bottlenecks of the projects.

The Chief Minister lauded the efforts of the officers for disbursing Rs 804 crore as land compensation in various NH projects within a month. He also emphasized the importance of completing the disbursement process of the remaining compensation cases worth about Rs 750 crore by March 27, 2023.

As the roads are the lifeline of the Himachal Pradesh, the has been working diligently to ensure the timely completion of National Highway projects. The State Government’s efforts to expedite the land compensation and other clearances process would facilitate smoother implementation of the projects and provide better road connectivity to the people as well as tourists visiting the state, he said.

Sukhu directed the officers to expedite the FRA-FCA clearance cases, by monitoring the cases every 15 days. He said that a follow-up review meeting would be held on March 27 (Monday) to access the progress made in these matters.

The Higher Education Department has asked the deputy directors of the department and public information officers/principals of the government colleges, as well as colleges, to compile data for submission of the annual report of RTI to the state Information Commissioner and Education Secretary, and send it to the directorate of education and RTI cell through mail by May 31. The data to be submitted includes application received, appeals received and disposed off, RTI fee, additional fee received in respect of institutions, offices and institutions and other details.

The NSUI has written a letter to the Chief Minister, in which it demanded that college and university students should be vaccinated on priority. The NSUI also sought special assistance for the children, who lost their parents or the breadwinner to Covid, on the lines of the J&K administration. The students’ body also demanded that Rs 5,000 each should be transferred to the account of BPL families, small-time shopkeepers and traders. The NSUI also urged the

To ensure that is provided quality treatment in a time-bound manner and the farmer is saved from additional expenses like travelling to the point of care and availing quality medicines, the Himachal Pradesh Government is going to start a new project Sanjeevani providing doorstep delivery of veterinary Services to the farmers.

The initiative will serve farmers at 44 blocks located in 12 districts of the state. The centralized call centre at the Directorate of Animal Husbandry will be integrated with 44 Mobile Veterinary Ambulances.

The one-of-its-kind telemedicine platforms will ensure that the farmer avails quality treatment at the doorstep in a time-bound manner. Apart from veterinary services, farmers will also be given guidance on Nutrition care for their livestock.

The states rural economy is based on Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and animal husbandry is a major component of it, said the spokesperson, adding that there are approximately 4.41 million livestock in Himachal Pradesh, and taking its care is an important aspect of every rural household, and timely, proper care can benefit farmers and improve their standard of living.

The Himachal Cabinet on Monday gave approval for the auction-cum-tender of retail excise vends in the state for the year 2023-24 with an objective to gain adequate enhancement in Government revenue, reduction in the price of liquor and curb its smuggling from the neighbouring States.

The Cabinet, chaired by chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu decided to introduce keg draught beer in retail vends with a capacity of 5 litres and customers would be benefited from this as more varieties of beer will be available to them. Bottling of imported wine in the wineries of the State has been allowed, which would ensure that bestselling high-range wine brands, will now be easily available to customers.

To facilitate the horticulturists and to boost the economy, it has been decided to introduce a new category of liquor obtained by Fermentation of fruits and their distillation or by blending and to boost tourism, it has been decided that the L-3, L-4, and L-5, license holders shall be allowed to have mini bars for occupants in all rooms of 3-star rated hotels and above.