Shimla, Jun 6: The Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday said it has slashed the fine from Rs 4,500 to Rs 500 for vehicles facing violation of norms related to the transportation of minerals.
The decision to reduce the compounding fee for tractors transporting minerals for domestic use from Rs 4,500 to Rs 500 was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, according to an official statement.
Compounding fee refers to the penalty amount that is paid to state mining authorities to resolve an offence related to illegal mining, storage, or transport of minerals.
The decision will provide relief to tractor operators by protecting them from undue harassment and eliminating the burden of excessive penalties, the statement said.
The state cabinet also approved the policy for the regularisation of certain encroachments on government land.
The decision is aimed at addressing the humanitarian concerns of landless families and marginal farmers who are in possession of government land for residential, agricultural and horticultural purposes, the statement said.
The policy, which has been framed in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court of India, has been sent to the Government of India for approval.
The cabinet also decided to enhance the health insurance coverage under the HIMCARE Scheme by shifting it to the insurance mode. Under the revised arrangement, eligible beneficiaries will receive health insurance cover of Rs 7 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, as against the existing coverage of Rs 5 lakh.
The state has also approved the Grazing Policy 2026, under which the forest department and the animal husbandry department will join hands to develop a portal to facilitate cattle graziers and grant real-time permits to strengthen the rural economy.
The Cabinet also approved the State Innovation Policy for Technical Education Institutions with the objective of establishing Himachal Pradesh as an emerging hub of innovation, entrepreneurship and startups.
To operationalise the policy, a provision of Rs 2 crore has been earmarked for the period from 2026 to 2028.
Approval was given for reconsideration of claims for compassionate appointments that were earlier rejected by several departments for various reasons, and decided to re-examine the most genuine rejected cases for consideration as a one-time measure.
Among other decisions, the cabinet approved amendments to the Himachal Pradesh NDPS Rules, 1989, to regulate the cultivation, processing, manufacturing, warehousing and transportation of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes.
It decided to introduce the Agriculture Loan Interest Subvention Scheme to those farmers whose land is up for auction. The state government will bear 50 per cent of the interest liability on eligible agricultural loans up to Rs 3 lakh, benefiting 6,356 farmers across the state.
Also, the cabinet gave its approval to create and fill 400 posts of Work Inspector under the Directorate of Recruitment. It also approved filling up of 300 posts of Medical Officers and 250 posts of class-IV/Multi Task Workers in the department of Health and Family Welfare.
Besides, it approved the recruitment of 200 nurses in the department of Health and Family Welfare and decided to fill up 162 posts in the department, which include 76 operation theatre assistants, 36 radiographers, and 50 lab technicians Grade-II.
It decided to create and fill 75 posts of assistant professors in various departments in different medical colleges across the state. It also decided to fill up three posts of Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services.
The government has granted full salary to employees who are on study leave. Employees who had previously availed study leave will also be paid the balance amount of salary due to them.
The Cabinet approved the launch of Phase IV of the Rajiv Gandhi Swarojgar Start-Up Yojana. Under the scheme, eligible beneficiaries will be provided a 50 per cent subsidy for the purchase of e-buses and a 30 per cent subsidy for diesel buses to operate on identified bus routes.
It was further decided to constitute a Cabinet Sub-Committee to be presided over by Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri to look into centralising and streamlining the recruitment of Multi-Task Workers to be appointed in various departments.(PTI)
