Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service
Shimla, June 25
No Hike In Bus Fares
- According to sources, the Cabinet decided against enhancing
bus fares.
-
It decided to allow 100 per cent occupancy in private and HRTC buses from July 1.
The state Cabinet today decided to enhance the vehicle registration fee substantially and withdraw Rs 110 crore power subsidy, which would shift the burden of power tariff on two lakh domestic consumers.
Sources confirmed that the vehicle registration fee was hiked from the present rate of 2.5 per cent to 4 per cent, according to the vehicle and from 8 per cent to 10 per cent.
As such, anyone planning to purchase a vehicle would have to shell out much more for getting it registered.
The decisions have been taken to generate more resources for the cash-strapped Himachal Pradesh government, especially during the economic slowdown caused by the Covid pandemic.
Besides, an earlier arrangement where contract carriers, who paid the entire taxes for a month in one go, were entitled to a waiver for 15 days, has been done away with.
This decision, too, is expected to generate additional resources.
The Cabinet also decided to withdraw Rs 110 crore out of the earlier announced subsidy of Rs 480 crore for the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB).
“The power tariff announced by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission will remain the same but the subsidy component of Rs 480 crore has been reduced to Rs 370 crore. As a result, the consumers will have to share the burden and pay more for each unit of power consumed,” said a senior officer.
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