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HP cabinet decisions: Budget session to be held from Feb 26 to March 20
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur will present the budget on March 6; schools for Classes 6 and 7 to reopen on February 15 Key decisionsCM Jai Ram Thakur to present budget on March 6Schools to reopen for Classes 6 and 7 from February 15Students to be provided dry ration as mid-day meals suspended till March 31.Right of Way Policy, 2021 draft to be notified to boost investment in the telecom sectorWater Sports and Allied Activities Draft Rules, 2021 and Himachal Pradesh Miscellaneous Adventure Activities (Amendment) Rules, 2021 notified to make adventure sports safer150 various posts to be filled up in public works department Key decisions
The Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Friday decided to hold the budget session of the state assembly from February 26 to March 20.
Parliamentary affairs minister and cabinet spokesperson Suresh Bhardwaj said 17 meetings will be held and chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur will present the budget on March 6.
“Vidhan Sabha speaker Vipin Parmar will lay down the standard operating procedures (SOPs). A decision will be taken at the all-party meeting regarding mandating Covid tests for legislators and others attending the sessions,” said Bhardwaj, adding that a special assembly session will be held to commemorate the golden jubilee of Himachal Pradesh’s statehood. However, the dates are yet to be finalised.
Academic session to begin from April 1
The cabinet has also decided to open schools for Classes 6 and 7 from February 15. Primary school students from Classes 1 to 4 will continue to attend online classes. All government educational institutions in Sarkaghat sub- division of Mandi, which had been shut down after a spike in Covid infections among teachers, will be opened on February 8.
In case any teacher, employee or student is found Covid positive in any educational institution, it will be closed for 48 hours and opened after sanitisation, as per protocol. Serving of cooked meals at schools as part of the mid-day meal scheme has been suspended till March 31. During this period, dry ration will be provided to students and the cooking cost will be transferred into the accounts of their parents and guardians.
The 2021-22 academic session is slated to start from April 1.
20 kanals to be leased in Una for general engineering cluster
The cabinet has also decided to lease 20 kanals of land to the industries department at Tahliwal in Una district in favour of Haroli Industrial Infrastructure Development Society for 30 years at ₹1 annual lease for setting up a general engineering cluster.
It gave the nod to deploy 30 Home Guard volunteers on daily basis with the Baddi police for strengthening law, order and the traffic system.
The ministers consented to frame the Himachal Pradesh Taxation (on Certain Goods Carried by Road) Rules, 2021 by repealing existing rules to allow electronic payments.
They decided to notify the draft of Right of Way Policy, 2021 to set a transparent and time-bound process for giving right of way approvals for setting up telecom infrastructure.
Job openings
Further, the cabinet gave the nod to filling up 150 posts of drivers and operators in the public works department (PWD) through limited direct recruitment, five posts of drivers in the information and public relations department and appointment of 10 clerks and seven Class-4 employees in the health and family welfare department on compassionate grounds.
The Himachal Pradesh Water Sports and Allied Activities Draft Rules, 2021 and Himachal Pradesh Miscellaneous Adventure Activities (Amendment) Rules, 2021 were approved to ensure safety during different adventure activities along with the Himachal Pradesh Aero Sports Rules, 2020 to promote aero sports activities in the state.
Ministers join in virtually
Agriculture minister Virender Kanwar, transport minister Bikram Singh, food and civil supply minister Rajender Garg and education minister Govind Singh, who could not attend the meeting as roads were closed due to heavy snowfall, joined in virtually.
