Himachal Cabinet nod to restoration of SAT disbanded by BJP govt

Shimla, November 18

The Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, today decided to reinstate the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), which the previous BJP government had wound up in 2019. The Congress had in its manifesto for the 2022 Assembly elections promised to restore the SAT.

Winter session likely from Dec 19 to 23

• The Cabinet decided to recommend to the government that the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha be convened at Dharamsala from December 19 to 23
• As per the practice, the government machinery shifts to Dharamsala, considered the second capital, for the winter session at the Vidhan Sabha complex at Tapovan

The previous BJP government headed by Jai Ram Thakur had wound up the SAT on July 3, 2019. Himachal was amongst the first states to set up the SAT in 1986 and since then successive BJP governments had disbanded it twice. The Congress government headed by Virbhadra Singh had set up the SAT to address the grievances and issues of government employees. The decision to restore the SAT is seen as a move to woo around three lakh government employees, who can tilt the balance in any election in Himachal.

The Cabinet also approved 4,500 posts of para-worker in the Jal Shakti Department and 25 posts of Excise and Taxation Inspector in the State Taxes and Excise Department. Besides, it also decided to appoint 10 Horticulture Development Officers.

The Cabinet gave nod to a one-time waiver of Motor Vehicle Tax and associated interest and penalties on old vehicles that would be scrapped at the Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility. The tax waiver would be allowed for one year and was meant to motivate people to scrap their old vehicles in accordance with the existing norms.

Furthermore, it was also decided to grant 25 per cent concession on non-transport vehicles for 15 years and 15 per cent concession on transport vehicles for eight years in tax payable under Section 14 of the HP Motor Vehicles Taxation Act 1972 for registering new vehicles with a valid ‘Certificate of Deposit.’

The Cabinet also decided to adopt a six years plus age criterion for students seeking admission to Class I in all schools of the state from the academic session 2024-25. It gave ex-post facto approval to granting a monthly rent of Rs 5,000 in rural areas and Rs 10,000 in urban areas to disaster-affected families. An allocation of Rs 75 lakh was made to provide rent to all such families whose houses were damaged in the natural disaster and are putting up in rented houses.