The Himachal Pradesh cabinet meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu at the Secretariat in Shimla on Tuesday. Many major decisions have been taken in the meeting. 47 different agendas were discussed in the cabinet. In the cabinet meeting, it was decided to start Mukhyamantri Van Vistar Yojana. Through this scheme, green cover will be promoted in the state by including the barren peaks and hills located in all the districts of the state.

Apart from this, erosion etc. can also be stopped in sharp slopes. For effective implementation of the scheme, a task force will also be formed under the chairmanship of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the Chief of Forest Force. It was also decided that maintenance of selected areas would be ensured for seven years and this work of plantation and maintenance would be done on outsourced basis, in which local residents would also be involved.

The cabinet decided to establish Project Management Unit in the Revenue Department and create and fill 14 posts of different categories for dealing effectively with natural calamities.

The cabinet also decided to make trauma center and emergency medicine department functional in Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Shimla and create and fill 136 additional posts of nursing and paramedical staff for the convenience of the patients. All the six departments related to this, Neurosurgery, Radiology, Plastic Surgery, Anesthesia, Orthopedic and General Surgery will be able to ensure round the clock services in three phases.

In the meeting, approval was also given to fill 87 posts of different categories in Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats of the state. The Cabinet gave its approval to create posts of Assistant District Attorney in newly established Civil Courts at Dharampur and Padhar and newly established Additional District and Sessions Courts at Noorpur, Dehra, Palampur, Paonta Sahib and Rohru and seven posts of Deputy District Attorney in POSCO Court and CBI Court in Mandi district. The cabinet gave approval to create and fill up 7 posts of different categories in Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission.

It also decided to increase the honorarium of special police officers posted in the border areas of the state by Rs 500 per month. In the meeting, approval was also given to the draft Maintenance of Family Register Rules, 2023 in Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in order to prepare proper records of families living in urban areas.

A presentation on Himachal Pradesh Patta Rules-2013 (amended in the year 2016 and 2017) was also given in the meeting. It was also decided to comprehensively examine the issue of grant of lease to hydropower projects and to make recommendations regarding the amount of lease to be taken from them. The cabinet also approved the rationalization of the amount charged for the services provided through Lokmitra centers in the state.

In view of the implementation of the recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax Council, the cabinet also approved the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Bill 2023 on the lines of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act. It was also decided in the meeting to implement the Himachal Pradesh Nautod Rules, 1968 for two years with certain conditions. This area should not be under National Park, Sanctuary, Conservation Reserve, Community Reserve, Forest Reserve, DPF. The number of trees standing in the land proposed for Nautod should not be more than two. This land will be made available only for domestic use and the person concerned should not be involved in any kind of forest crimes. Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi informed about the decisions of the cabinet.