HIMACHAL PRADESH

Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limiteds (HPSEBL) decision to outsource the operation and maintenance of 33 kv substations has not gone down well with the board employee union.

Lodging a strong protest with the HPSEBL management, the employee union has demanded a rethink on the issue and threatened an agitation, if the decision is not rolled back.

The union said the board had outsourced these substations in the past, too but the experience was not good. It wont be in the interest of the board this time as well. The board was to take back these substations in a dilapidated condition due to the poor maintenance of the machinery by private contractors.

The government could consider winding up or merging its 131 primary schools that have zero enrolment and 1,957 schools which have less than 10 students in the state as part of the rationalisation process.

This was stated by Education Minister Govind Thakur in a written reply to a query raised by Ramesh Dhwala of the BJP. He wanted to know the number of schools with zero or less than 10 enrolment and if the government was considering their rationalisation.

Besides this, losses suffered by the Irrigation and Public Health Department amounted to Rs 215.53 crore. I admit that the damages are far more than the compensation received from the Centre or even from our own funds. As such, a large number of repair works have been undertaken as part of various schemes under the MGNREGA or conservation, he stated.

He said at times, relief or compensation given was inadequate but the government had to abide by the relief manual and could not go beyond the fixed amount.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said today that the work to restore water supply projects were going on a war footing in flood-affected Mandi and Kullu districts. He added that the government had set a target to resume water supply to Mandi city within 24 hours.

He said, Water supply from the Uhal river was severely hit due to flashfloods. Efforts are being made to restore it at the earliest. The Jal Shakti Department is working to restore an alternative source of water at Paddal, which was also damaged badly in the floods. A budget of Rs 2 crore had been released for the purpose so that water could be supplied to the people of Mandi city from this source till water supply from the Uhal river is restored.

He said, The Jal Shakti Department is facing its biggest challenge due to the flashfloods, which damaged around 5,000 of the total 10,000 water supply schemes.

As many as 13 proposals for setting up new industrial enterprises and expansion of the existing units involving the of about Rs 1,297.23 crore were approved at the 17th meeting of the State Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority here today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

The projects will give EMPLOYMENT to 1,718 persons. These include proposals of Sri Ram Healthcare Unit-III at Burranwala in Baddi, for liquid ampule, liquid vial, dry injection and ointment, RKV Spirits, Beed Palasi in Nalagarh for extra neutral alcohol, animal feed, carbon dioxide, ethanol and beer, Kinvan Private Limited, Plassara, Nalagarh, for making of APIs/bulk drugs.

Children took over the Himachal Pradesh assembly for an hour and a half on Monday to participate in a mock session, which chief ministerSukhvinder Singh Sukhusaid would go down in the annals of the Vidhan Sabha.

Sukhu assured the kids to consider their suggestions, which ranged from improvement in the states Health Services to special sessions in schools. He said the children participating in the Bal Satra were fortunate to have got an opportunity to express themselves in the Vidhan Sabha, a 98-year-old complex which has been a witness to several historical events. The session conducted on World Day AgainstChild Labourwas aimed at sensitising the children about political Literacy along with other burning issues, including citizens rights.

Organised by digital childrens fair under the aegis of Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly, the session saw majority of the students from government schools, including Navodayas.

In view of the threat of the outbreak of black fungus, the Health and Family Welfare Department today notified the Himachal Pradesh Epidemic Diseases (Mucormycosis) Regulations, 2021.

The notification was issued under Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 and would come into force immediately. The regulations would remain valid for one year. These had been issued in view of the threat of black fungus among immune-compromised patients, especially Covid infected being treated with Steroids.

A Health institution will be set up in each assembly constituency of Himachal Pradesh to strengthen the health of the hill state, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said.

To be developed as Adarsh Swasthaya Sansthan, these institutes will comprise 134 types of laboratory test facilities, specialists and medical staff to provide the latest state-of-the-art MRI, CT scan, ultrasound and digital X-ray facilities, he said while presiding over a meeting of the health department. There are 68 assembly constituencies in the state.

The institutions will reduce the local residences dependence on district hospitals and strengthen the infrastructure of medical and Nursing Education, he said. The Congress-led State Government has accorded top priority to the Health sector so that world-class medical facilities could be provided to the patients within the state which would go a long way in saving the time and Money of the masses, the chief minister said.

The state government was now working on strengthening the health infrastructure and diagnostic facilities in the health institutions of the state to ensure better health care to the people at their doorsteps, Sukhu said. The robotic surgery facilities would be started on a pilot basis in Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital Shimla and Medical College Tanda in the next six months and training will be imparted to doctors and other staff in this respect soon, he said.

Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur unfurled the to commence the district-level celebrations of 74th Himachal Day at the Dhalpur Maidan here today and took the salute from an impressive parade.

He said that Himachal is the leader in terms of development. When it became a full-fledged state in 1971, the Literacy rate was 31.96 per cent and there were 4,693 educational institutions and 587 Health institutions. He added that at present, the literacy rate is 82.80 per cent, and there are 15,553 educational institutions and 4,320 health institutions.

The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Friday decided to implement the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) from April 1 in the state. The cabinet, presided by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, gave its nod to the implementation of the OPS which would put a burden of Rs 1,000 crore on the state exchequer.

The cabinet also approved the repealing of Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Adhiniyam, 2021, and Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Niyam, 2022, providing a monthly pension of Rs 11,000 per month to persons who were jailed during the Emergency, a government statement said.

The cabinet decided that the employees will also be brought under the ambit of General Provident fund (GPF).

The employees under the New Pension Scheme (NPS), who have retired after May 15, 2003, will be given OPS from the prospective date. The decision would put a burden of Rs 1,000 crore on the state exchequer during 2023-24 financial year.

Sukhu said the decision has been taken after making necessary amendments in the rules.

The contribution towards NPS by the government and the employees would stop from April 1, 2023. If any employee wants to opt for NPS, he/she can give Consent to the government, he said. The cabinet has passed a resolution, asking the Union Government to return an amount of Rs 8,000 crore under the NPS to the state and asked the state Finance department to amend the rules and issue necessary instructions in this regard.

New initiatives for restoring degraded landscapes will be taken up underHimachal Pradesh State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority(HP Campa) in the entire state in this fiscal, chief ministerSukhvinder Singh Sukhusaid on Monday late evening. Instead of raising plantations in a sporadic manner, it should be done in a planned manner on barren hills and other large open patches, keeping in mind climatic conditions and dedicated staff would be deployed to take care of plantations in a responsible and accountable manner, he said while presiding over the first meeting of the governing body of HP Campa).