Domestic help, her 21-year-old daughters to get Rs 1,500 monthly grant

The Cabinet today approved the inclusion of women working as domestic help under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana. Women, who had completed a minimum of 100 days as domestic help, along with their daughters aged 21 years and above, would now be eligible for benefits under the scheme and receive Rs 1,500 per month as assistance.

The Cabinet that met for the second consecutive day under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also approved the new Homestay Policy and gave relaxation to their owners in rural areas who were opposing a hike in the proposed taxes and water and power tariffs. It decided to fix the registration fee for homestays in Pangi subdivision of Chamba district at 50 per cent of the standard rate.

The Cabinet approved an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for naturally-grown crops in the state. The MSP for naturally-grown wheat was raised from Rs 40 per kg to Rs 60 per kg and for maize from Rs 30 per kg to Rs 40 per kg. It also approved a Rs 90 per kg MSP for naturally-grown raw turmeric and Rs 60 per kg for barley in Pangi block of Chamba district. It also decided to declare Pangi as the first natural farming subdivision of the state.

The Cabinet gave nod to the allotment of 422 stage carriage routes to private operators to offer efficient transport service and provide self-employment opportunities to the youth. To address the problem of roadside parking and congestion, it approved the opening of the feasible closed basement for parking purpose. If the designated parking floor was used for any other purpose, the person concerned would be levied a heavy penalty and he would have to restore the floor for parking.

The Cabinet approved the establishment of nephrology, neurology and gastroenterology departments at Government Medical College, Hamirpur, along with the creation and filling of 118 posts. Besides, the Cabinet decided to open a new division of the Jal Shakti Department at Sujanpur in Hamirpur and upgrade the Ayurvedic Health Centre at Kosari in Jaisinghpur of Kangra district to a 10-bed Ayurvedic Hospital.

The Cabinet decided to provide relief in water tariffs to the residents of the newly constituted 14 Nagar Panchayats by charging rural rates for the next three years. The merged parts of the upgraded Municipal Corporations of Hamirpur, Una and Baddi, the Municipal Councils of Nadaun and Baijnath-Paprol and areas recently included in the Municipal Councils of Jwalamukhi, Dehra and Paonta Sahib and the nagar panchayat of Jawali would also get this benefit.

Clear compassionate jobs backlog: CM

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday directed officials concerned to clear the backlog of employment on compassionate grounds within one year
• He presided over a high-level meeting on the Compassionate Employment Policy here
• He said that the income criteria would be raised from Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per annum. He added that the backlog of compassionate employment would be cleared in three phases and directed the officials to give priority to widows and orphans below the age of 45 years
• At present, there were 141 widows and 159 orphans falling in this category
• Sukhu said that in the second phase, eligible individuals falling in the low income group would be given priority in compassionate employment and the remaining candidates would be offered jobs in the third phase
• Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, Ayush Minister Yadvinder Goma and Principal Secretary Devesh Kumar attended the meeting