News
Tourism activities to be expanded in the State: Chief Minister
With efforts focused at realizing the true potential of tourism, the State Government was endeavouring to harness the tourism potential in a planned and sustainable manner to achieve the objectives. This was stated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while presiding over the 3rd International Tourism conclave and Travel Events Awards held on the occasion of the World Tourism Day here today.
He said State Government had formulated a Sustainable Development Policy-2013 which was serving as a blue print for all present and future tourism related activities in the State.
“The State Government is playing a multi-faceted role of that of a promoter, regulator and a facilitator for all tourism related activities” said the Chief Minister.
He said that tourism was poised to become a principal industry of the State and the State Government, had put in place a framework of rules, policies and laws to ensure that all tourism related activities were ‘tourist centric’ with visitors interest of paramount importance. He said that to meet the infrastructure gaps in the tourism sector, resources of related departments were also being converged for better outcome.
Tourism sector was not only vital for creating employment opportunities but it also contributes a lot in promoting the culture and adding to the economy of the State, he said, admitting that the efforts of the State were promising but not sufficient enough. He said that the State Government was working hard in this direction to pursue the goals and was keen to extend invitation to the entrepreneurs in tourism and hospitality industry to arrive and invest in Himachal.
Chief Minister said that at present tourism was contributing about 9.75 percent to the State Domestic Product (GDP) and there had been consistent increase in inflow of tourists to the State with an average annual growth rate of 11.80 percent in the last couple of years. The Government was providing a budgetary support of Rs 6.5 crore annually to the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the department through International and National Travel Marts was promoting Himachal on a sustained basis as an ideal tourist destination.
He said that for up-gradation of tourists infrastructure Rs 600 crore project funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB), was being implemented and apart from this, with the technical assistance from the World Bank the districts of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur would be provided a facelift and developed as a favourite tourist destinations.
He said that the hotel units being set up in tribal and hard areas and in backward panchayats were exempted from payment of luxury tax for a period of ten years and a similar concession had also been extended to the tourism units coming up in rural areas applicable from April, 2014. The home-units in rural areas were also exempted from payment of luxury tax for a period of five years.
“It was only after persuasion from the State Government that the GoI extended its capital investment subsidy scheme for the hotel industry in the State” he said adding further that to take our tourism industry ahead, we were keen to invite the private sector investment in the areas of rope-ways, resorts, amusement parks, film cities, mega tourist destination, civil aviation sector, adventure activities like paragliding, water sports etc.
Chief Minister said that Government was endeavouring to expand airstrips at Shimla, Kullu and Kangra to facilitate the high-end tourists and the matter had been taken up with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
He said that the State was keen to develop a new airport to cater to heavy duty passenger aircrafts and the process to identify a site near Kandaghat in Solan district was underway. The Government was also mulling to develop helipads in the far-flung and interior areas of the State and commence heli-taxi service with private sector so that the areas unexplored could be made open for tourists.
He said that rationalization of inter-State road taxes and similar related issues were likely to be taken up with the Governments of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttrakhand, which would go a long way in promoting Tourism activities in the State.
To impose curb on fleecing of tourists visiting the State and to ensure their safety and security, trained police personnel were being deployed in major tourist destinations, he said.
The Chief Minister said that tourism can not prosper without the private participation and requires contribution from all the stakeholders concerned and at the same time it was important that the word of mouth be spread amongst the fraternity which will be the last mile effort to spread Himachal’s tourism potential far and wide.
The Chief Minister also released a website, www.himachaltourism.gov.in of tourism department on the occasion and distributed prizes to the stakeholders who excelled in promoting and popularizing tourism.
A sum of Rs 53 thousand was also presented to the Chief Minister towards Chief Minister Relief Fund on the occasion by Tourism Department.
Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, Vice-Chairman of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Board said that tourism was a large Job creator industry in the world and was the most vital sector that helps in economic growth and prosperity.
He stressed on the re-establishing and re-vitalizing the bond between Man and Nature, which was possible in exquisite natural beauty of the State. He said that the bond between Man and Planet life, the bond between Man and God and the endless search for peace and tranquility which is broken in race towards materialism can be found nowhere except in Himachal Pradesh which was bestowed with immaculate natural beauty.
Mankotia said the matter regarding linking of interior area with suitable road network had been taken up with Government of India and the Chief Minister himself has persuaded linking of interior and far-flung areas with roads and also the talks with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttrakhand, Punjab and Haryana were in the offing to take up a joint representation with GoI so as to ensure that all the yardsticks and measures for funding for hill States differ from those of other States.
Guldeep Singh Sahni, President Outbound Tour Operators Association of India and Mr. Jyoti Kapur, President , Association of Domestic Tour Operators appreciated the efforts of the State Government in developing the tourism sector.
Dr Gulshan Sharma CEO, International Chamber for service Industry stressed for developing cinematic tourism and medical tourism in the State. He said the medicinal tourism have a great scope in the State as Himachal was a home to number of herbal medicines. He proposed for 100 crore domestic project for development of tourism by International chamber of Service Industry in the State entirely sponsored by GoI and also proposed to hold a conference of all the North Indian States for Integrated Tourism development of entire North India and to make it as the leading tourism destination in the occasion.
Earlier, Mohan Chauhan, Director Tourism and Civil Aviation said Himachal Pradesh was a front runner in tourism sector and there was a vast scope of expanding the tourism activities in the State. He attributed the development in tourism sector to the Chief Minister and said that the enlightened spirit and conviction of Virbhadra Singh had made impossible the possible in the development of tourism sector in the State.
Vice Chairman, Tourism Development Corporation Harish Janartha was also present on the occasion.
News
HP Cabinet Decisions: Eligibility Criteria for BPL List, Special Task Force to Combat Drug Abuse & Other Decisions
Shimla-The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, in its meeting held on Thursday, approved the inclusion of the following families in the BPL list:
- Families with no adult members between the ages of 18 and 59.
- Women-headed families.
- Families whose head has a disability of 50 per cent or more.
- Families that worked for at least 100 days under MNREGA in the previous financial year.
- Families whose earning members are suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, muscular dystrophy, thalassemia, or any other condition resulting in permanent disability.
The Cabinet also approved the establishment of a Special Task Force to combat drug abuse and dismantle drug trafficking and organized crime networks in the state through a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach.
Additionally, the Cabinet decided to promulgate an ordinance to amend Schedule 1A of the Indian Stamp Act of 1899. This amendment will facilitate the levy of a uniform stamp duty rate of 12 per cent on transfer and lease transactions secured under Section 118(2)(H) of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, with prior approval from the State Government.
The Cabinet approved a ban on the felling of trees, except for Safeda, Poplar, Bamboo, and Khair (for sale), in accordance with a ten-year program.
The Cabinet reiterated its request to the Government of India to adopt a 90:10 funding formula for the power component of the Kishau Multipurpose Project, similar to the formula adopted for its water component. Alternatively, the Cabinet proposed providing a 50-year interest-free loan for the entire amount payable by the State Government for the power component under the Inter-State Agreement.
It approved the establishment of a 1 MW Green Hydrogen Project in Nalagarh, to be executed by HPPCL.
The Cabinet sanctioned the imposition of Green Energy Development Charges for Pumped Storage Projects. A charge of ₹2.5 lakh per MW per year will be levied for the first 10 years after the project’s commissioning, increasing to ₹5 lakh per MW per year thereafter.
Approval was given to introduce the Himachal Pradesh Sadbhawana Legacy Cases Resolution Scheme 2025 to resolve pending cases, litigations, and arrears under subsumed enactments such as VAT, CST, Entry Tax, etc.
The Cabinet decided to designate the area surrounding the Tara Devi Temple in Shimla district as a Green Area.
It approved the creation and filling of 10 Junior Office Assistant (IT) posts for the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, Shimla.
The Cabinet selected the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, to conduct computer-based tests for the recruitment of Group-C posts through the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog, Hamirpur.
Approval was granted for creating the Block Primary Education Office at Rohnat by bifurcating the existing Block Primary Education Office at Shilai in the Sirmaur district.
The Cabinet decided to transfer three-gram panchayats — Matyal, Kudal, and Dhadol — from Development Block Lambagaon to Development Block Baijnath in Kangra district to serve the residents of these areas better.
The Cabinet approved the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority Land Pooling Policy-2025.
It also approved the establishment of the Himachal Pradesh State Water Informatics Centre to collect data from domain-specific bodies, develop new databases, and disseminate comprehensive water-related information.
Shimla– Himachal Pradesh Government has initiated action against Zila Parishad cadre employees, who have been on strike since September 30 over their demands for a merger with the Panchayati Raj Department. To start with, the Govt has terminated the services of 167 Junior Engineers (JEs) and ordered fresh recruitment of Diploma or Degree holders in Civil Engineering.
According to the Director, Panchayati Raj Department, Rugved Milind Thakur, notifications have been issued to the Chief Executive Officers of Zila Parishad and the Deputy Commissioners regarding the same.
Earlier, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in a statement to the media, had said that at a time when the State was hit by a natural disaster and is in the middle of carrying out relief work and rehabilitation of the affected people was not an appropriate time for such strike. He further added that the demands of these Zila Parishad employees would be attended to when conditions are suitable. He had added that the employees wouldn’t get anywhere by using pressure tactics against the State Government.
The Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Anirudh Singh had maintained the same argument and urged the employees to end the strike and get back to work because their absence was obstructing relief work. Anirudh Singh argued that the HP Government was serious about the demands of the employees, but their merger will have to go through various stages in accordance with the rules and legal procedure. This process would take time, he said. However, the Minister also failed to convince the striking employees to get back to work.
A few days back, a spokesperson of the HP Panchayati Raj Department had issued a statement, which said,
“Absence of technical staff was causing delayed wage payment to the MGNREGS workers as well as hampering development works being undertaken for disaster relief and restoration. A special package has been announced by the state government for the disaster-affected families. Under this package, reconstruction of houses and cowsheds and other relief and rehabilitation works, conservation activities of agriculture and horticulture land, etc. were to be done. But these works are being affected due to the absence of technical staff.”
The Department had also sought details from all the Chief Executive Officers of the Zila Parishads regarding the absence of employees in view of the delay in developmental and disaster relief works by October 18, 2023. The government termed their absence as unauthorized.
The Department said that it was taking all necessary steps to deal with the situation arising due to the absence of certain categories of employees.
“There should not be any unnecessary delay in disaster relief and rehabilitation works and the Panchayati Raj Department was determined to ensure all assistance and other benefits to the affected families on time,” the Spokesperson said in a statement.
The Department had also handed over the charge of Panchayat Secretaries temporarily to Gram Rozgar Sevaks, Sewing Teachers, and Panchayat Chowkidars. They were also given financial powers. The Panchayati Raj Department justified that these alternative arrangements were helping to restore the issuance of certificates and other routine works of the Gram Panchayats.
However, the striking employees on Friday said the alternative arrangements weren’t working at all, thus, causing a huge inconvenience to the people. The employees said that the decision of the government to sack the JEs has not affected their strike, and it will go on indefinitely till their demand for merger is met.
Why Zila Parishad Employees Are on A Strike
4,700 Zila Parishad cadre employees have been on indefinite pen-down strike since September 30, stalling the routine functions of Zila Parishads. The main demand of the Zila Parishad cadre employees is the merger with the Panchayati Raj Department so that they could avail benefits on a par with the employees of the other government departments.
These employees also said that despite a poll promise before the elections to the State Assembly, the current Congress government was denying them the new pay scale.
These employees argued that they were suffering financial loss, and they were not receiving dearness allowance (DA) and arrears while other employees were getting these benefits.
The employees are also demanding regularization under the contract policy. The strike has also received support from Panchayat representatives.
News
HP Cabinet Decisions: Construction in Shimla’s Green Belt Areas Permitted, Special Relief Package Approved
Shimla-Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Wednesday held a meeting under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Here are the decisions taken by the Cabinet:
Approval to Construction in Shimla’s Green Belt Areas
The Cabinet also decided to amend the Shimla Development Plan and construction would be permitted in green belt area lying above the road, from Navbahar to Ram Chandra Chowk to Machhiwali Kothi to Christ Church to Lakkar Bazar to IGMC to Sanjauli Chowk to Navbhar where there are no trees.
As per the Government, residential construction in the Green Belt area as per the Shimla Development Plan will be permitted only on those plots in which there are no trees.
It also decided to amend HP Town and Country Planning Rules to allow construction at a distance of 5 meters and 7 meters from Nallah and khad respectively.
The Cabinet decided to provide two Biswas of land in urban areas and three Biswas of land in rural areas who have been rendered homeless and those who are not left with land suitable for the construction of new houses.
HP Govt’s Special Package Approved
Nod was given a Special Relief Package for the disaster-affected families in the State as announced on 30th September 2023 by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.Under the Special Package:
-
- The compensation of Rs. 1.30 lakh for a completely damaged house would be increased five and a half times to Rs. 7 lakh.
- The compensation of Rs. 4,000 for partial damage to a ‘kutcha’ house would be increased by 25 times to Rs. 1 lakh, while the compensation for partial damage to a ‘pucca’ house to be increased by 15 and a half times, from Rs 6500 to Rs. 1 lakh.
- Compensation of Rs. 25,000 given in case of damage to a shop or dhaba would also be enhanced four times to rupees one lakh.
- The HP Government will also provide increased financial assistance of Rs. 50 thousand instead of Rs. 3000 for damage to the cowshed. T
- The state government will provide assistance of Rs. 50 thousand for damage or loss to the belongings of the tenants thereby marking a 20 times increase, from the existing Rs. 2500.
- For the loss of large milch and draught animals compensation of Rs. 55000 and for goat, pig, sheep and lamb Rs. 6000 per animal compensation would be provided.
- The compensation of Rs. 3615 per bigha for damage to agricultural and horticultural land would be increased to Rs. 10 thousand.
- The compensation on crop loss of Rs. 500 per bigha is to be increased eight times to Rs.4000.
- The financial assistance for removing silt from agricultural and horticultural land is to be enhanced from Rs. 1384.61 per bigha to Rs. 5000.
This special package would be granted from 24th June 2023 to 30th September 2023.
‘Van Mitra’ Scheme Approved
The Cabinet approved the Forest Department ‘Van Mitra’ Scheme. Under this scheme, one ‘Van Mitra’ each, in 2061 Forest Beats would be engaged. It also decided to fill up 100 vacant posts of Forest Guards in the Forest Department on a contractual basis.
It decided to enhance the honorarium of Jal Rakshaks, Multi-Purpose Workers, para fitters and para pump operators of Jal Shakti Vibhag by Rs. 500 per month raising it to Rs. 5000, Rs. 4400, Rs. 6000 and Rs. 6000 respectively.
Chintpurni Passenger Ropeway
The Cabinet approved in principle to establish a passenger ropeway system from Chintpurni Baba Mai Dass Bhawan Parking to Chintpurni Temple in PPP mode in district Una with a cost of Rs. 76.50 crore.
It also gave its approval to hire 15 e-taxis in the Transport Department.
It decided to promote Amateur and Community Radios for ‘Alternate Communication during emergencies in all districts of the State. This would provide effective information exchange between information sources, emergency managers and those impacted by disaster or emergent situations.
The Cabinet decided to reduce the Additional Goods Tax on lead by 25 paise per kg.
It also accorded approval to grant 234 routes for private operators and additional 100 routes for tempo travelers to provide better transport facilities to the people of the State.
It also gave its approval for declaring Traffic Inspectors, Motor Vehicles Inspectors, Senior Motor Vehicle Inspectors of the Transport department and Assistant Sub Inspector and Head Constable of the Police Department as designed authority to compound the offences under various Sections of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.
HP Cabinet Decisions: Eligibility Criteria for BPL List, Special Task Force to Combat Drug Abuse & Other Decisions
HP Govt Takes Action Against Striking Zila Parishad Employees, Orders Fresh Recruitment
HP Cabinet Decisions: Construction in Shimla’s Green Belt Areas Permitted, Special Relief Package Approved
Himachal Aims to be India’s First Green Energy State by 2025
Home Decor Ideas 2020