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Himachal Pradesh budget 2015-16: Highlights
Today in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh presented the state budget for the year 2015-16. In his address where he overlooked some of the important issues like Information Technology, he surely assured of providing good governance to the people of Himachal Pradesh.
Main highlights of the Budget
• Practice of obtaining Affidavits for various purposes replaced with Self-Declaration on Plain Paper.
• e-Procurement (e-Tendering) to be extended to more Departments for 100 per cent coverage and transparency in Government procurement process.
• Contract Management Information System to be rolled out in the Departments of IPH and Public Works for timely completion of Schemes and their proper monitoring.
• Amount of ‘Vidhayak Khshetriya Vikas Nidhi Yojana’ increased from Rs. 50 Lakh to Rs. 70 Lakh.
• A new Project on Management of Horticultural Crops in the State amounting to ` 1 Thousand Crore approved for funding by the World Bank.
• Budget outlay of Rs. 210 Crore proposed for continuing the Food Subsidy Scheme.
• Digital Ration Cards to be issued to All Eligible Residents.
• Additional Rs. 4 Crore proposed for Construction of Godowns/Warehouses for increasing storage capacity of Food Grains in the State.
• Rs. 154 Crore ‘Rajiv Gandhi Micro-Irrigation Scheme’ to be launched.
• 50 per cent subsidy proposed for Construction of Lift Irrigation Schemes and Installation of Bore-Wells by the individuals or group of farmers of the State.
• Zone-wise On-Line Soil Fertility Maps to be made available. 1 Lakh Farmers to be provided Soil Health Cards.
• An outlay of Rs. 60 Crore proposed for promoting Off Season Vegetables.
• New Scheme – ‘Establishment of Centres of Excellence for Vegetable Nursery Production’ to be launched.
• 20 Thousand Vermi-Compost Units to be set up with 50 per cent Financial Assistance.
• Rs. 10 Crore will be provided to the HP Marketing Board for Development of Market Yards.
• New Scheme – ‘Uttam Chara Utpadan Yojana’ to be launched for fodder development.
• Chaff-Cutter subsidy to be extended to BPL farmers also.
• New Scheme – ‘Mukhya Mantri Kisan Evam Khetihar Mazdoor Jeevan Surakhsha Yojana’ to provide Insurance cover to the Farmers/Agricultural Labourers.
• 2 Lakh Square Metre area to be covered under Protected Cultivation of High Value Fruits, Flowers and Vegetables.
• 1,000 Hectare additional area to be brought under Revamped Apple Rejuvenation Project.
• 30 per cent additional Subsidy to promote Pollinisation through Honey Bees proposed from the State Government.
• Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme to be extended to all Blocks of the State.
• Rs. 5 Crore proposed for HPMC for converting three Cold Stores into CA Cold Stores.
• Veterinary Poly-Clinics to be established in Una and Bilaspur districts.
• ‘Gauvansh Samvardhan Board’ to be constituted.
• Milk Procurement Price to be enhanced by Rs. 1 per Litre. HP MILKFED to be provided a Grant-in-Aid of ` 15 Crore.
• New Scheme to set up Milk Processing & Chilling Units by the Dairy Co-operative Societies with 60 per cent subsidy.
• KfW Bank of Germany to fund Rs. 310 Crore for HP Forest Eco-Systems Climate Proofing Project.
• Rs. 20 Crore for additional material for converting Kacha Water Tanks into Poly-Lined/Pucca Water Tanks in convergence with MGNREGA.
• 40,000 Hectare area to be developed under Watershed Development Programme by spending about Rs. 50 Crore.
• 10 Thousand Houses to be constructed under different Housing Schemes, with a subsidy of ` 75,000 for each house.
• Government to release Rs. 109 Crore to Panchayats. Additional Rs.195 Crore also to be released to Panchayats, as per 14th Finance Commission recommendations.
• Farmers and Self-Help Groups to be exempted from payment of Stamp Duty on Mortgage Deeds up to the value of Rs. 10 Lakhs.
• Stamp Duty and Registration Charges for Mortgage to obtain Education Loan up to Rs. 7.50 Lakh to be exempted.
• Stipend to Patwari candidates for training to be enhanced from ` 1 Thousand to ` 3 Thousand.
• Budget provision of Rs. 236 Crore proposed for Disaster Relief.
• Water Treatment Plants/Filter Beds to be provided in all left out 512 Water Supply Schemes in next three years with allocation of Rs. 20 Crore for 2015-16.
• Rs. 45 Crore to be allocated to accelerate the Nadaun Medium Irrigation and Phina Singh Irrigation Project.
• An outlay of Rs. 154 Crore proposed for Minor Irrigation Schemes to cover 3,500 Hectares of cultivated land.
• An outlay of Rs. 50 Crore proposed for Command Area Development Works.
• Rs. 330 Crore will be provided to IPH Department to meet the Energy Charges of Water Supply & Irrigation Schemes.
• An outlay of Rs. 187 Crore proposed for Flood Protection Works.
• Capacity addition of 1,050 MW Hydro-Power to be done in 2015-16.
• Solar Projects to be treated as Industrial Projects. Tariff up to 5 MW capacity to be regulated/approved by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission and entire power to be purchased by HPSEBL.
• 3 LED Bulbs per Domestic Consumer to be provided below market price and the cost at Rs. 10 per LED Bulb to be recovered through electricity bills from consumers.
• VAT on LED Bulbs will be reduced from 13.75 per cent to 5 per cent.
• Energy Efficient Chullahs certified by TERI or approved by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy to be exempted from VAT.
• Rs. 380 Crore to be provided to HPSEBL for subsidising electricity to the Domestic Consumers.
• Rs. 40 Crore to be provided for developing industrial areas in the State and ` 20 Crore to be provided to Baddi – Barotiwala – Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA) for various developmental works.
• New industries will be charged Entry Tax @ 1 per cent on industrial inputs.
• Electricity Duty for Specified Extra High Tension (EHT) Category Consumers to be reduced from 15 per cent to 13 per cent, for Medium & Large Industries except EHT from 13 per cent to 11 percent, for Small Industries from 7 per cent to 5 per cent and for any new industry including the new EHT category industry employing more than 300 Himachalis only 1 per cent for five years.
• Two State of the Art Industrial Areas at Kandrouri in Kangra and Pandoga in Una District Rs. 107 Crore and Rs. 112 Crore respectively to be set up.
• MGNREGA Workers having worked for 50 days in the preceding 12 months to be registered as beneficiaries with the HP Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
• Employment & Career Guidance to be provided in all the District Employment Exchanges, Schools, Colleges, ITIs, Engineering Institutions.
• 800 New Buses for HRTC to be purchased under JNNURM.
• Tax on Transport Vehicles and Contract Carriages will be transferred to the Department of Transport for the benefit of vehicle owners.
• Rs. 10 Crore to be provided for construction of New Bus Stands.
• Grant-in-Aid and Equity of Rs. 200 Crore to HRTC.
• Quality Monitors will be appointed for monitoring the quality of works in PWD.
• Rs. 50 Crore budget provision for installation of Steel Crash Barriers on the Accident Prone Sites.
• State Knowledge Cell on the Climate Change to be strengthened.
• e-Payment for effective and transparent Tax Collection to be made compulsory for all registered dealers under VAT & CST.
• Scheme of Deemed Assessment to the dealers to be simplified. Common Login-id to be provided to all dealers for uploading of all returns under different Acts.
• Trucks entering Himachal with full on-Line Declaration of Goods not to be stopped at Barriers.
• Exemption limit for Dhabas, Halwai, Chai and Chat Dealers will be raised to Rs. 8 Lakhs for payment of VAT.
• Small Traders with less than Rs. 25 Lakh turn-over to be provided a Group Accidental Insurance cover of Rs. 2 Lakhs.
• Inter-State Purchase or Sale also to be brought under Lump-Sum Scheme.
• VAT on Fabrication of Truck/Bus Bodies to be reduced to 5 per cent.
• The CGCR Tax levied on packaged water bottles to be reduced.
• Private parties to be invited to start Helicopter Service from Chandigarh to Shimla and other Tourist Destinations.
• Magicians and Circus performances to be exempted from payment of Entertainment Duty for ten years.
• Tourism Infrastructure Projects of US $ 62 Million to promote Community Based Tourism Activities.
• Aero-Sports Rules to be simplified for encouraging Adventure Tourism.
• Meritorious Students of 10th and 12th Class to be distributed 10,000 Net books/Lap-tops under ‘Rajiv Gandhi Digital Yojana’.
• Vocational Training in 100 more Government Senior Secondary Schools to be extended and 200 Vocational Teachers to be appointed.
• Extension of Two Years in Service to be given to the National Awardee Teachers. One Additional Increment also to be given to them in lieu of Cash Prize.
• One exclusive College for Fine Arts to be opened to promote Visual & Fine Arts.
• Existing ITIs to have additional Demand Driven and Employment Oriented Trades and ITIs at Nalagarh in Solan and Baroh in Kangra to be upgraded as Model ITIs.
• 10 new State of the Art ITIs with related trades and 400 student intake capacity to be opened.
• Only 50 per cent Stamp Duty to be charged from entrepreneurs establishing new ITIs on the private land in Tribal & Hard Areas/Backward Panchayats. Building Grant of Rs. 10 Lakh to be provided to them after starting ITI.
• Regional Vocational Training Institute for Women to be opened at Jhundla in District Shimla.
• HP State Skill Development Corporation to be constituted.
• A Skill Development Institute to be opened for Skill Up-gradation of Construction Workers.
• 8,000 Rural Youth of BPL Category under NRLM and 5,000 Urban Poor under NULM to be equipped with appropriate Skills.
• A budget outlay of Rs. 100 Crore proposed for Skill Development Allowance.
• Indoor Auditoriums for cultural events to be constructed at district headquarters, where such facility does not exist. Rs. 25 Crore budget proposed for the purpose.
• Multi-purpose Indoor Sports Complex to be constructed in district headquarters, where there is no such facility. Rs. 35 Crore budget proposed for the purpose.
• Annual Grant to Youth Clubs to be enhanced to Rs. 20 Thousand.
• All the Accredited and Recognised Journalists to be covered under Group Accident Insurance up to Rs. 5 Lakh and Rs. 3 Lakh respectively.
• Rs. 1 Crore proposed for Construction of Press Clubs.
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences to be established in Bilaspur. 3 Medical Colleges to be established at Nahan, Chamba and Hamirpur at a cost of Rs. 189 Crore each.
• A Super Speciality Block for Tertiary Care Services to be constructed in IGMC at a cost of Rs. 150 Crore.
• Burn units to be established in all district hospitals in a phased manner.
• A pilot Tele-Medicine Project in PPP Mode to be launched in CH Keylong and Kaza and 25 CHCs of Sirmour and Chamba districts and CHC Dodra-Kawar.
• 7,750 Asha Workers to be placed in villages after training.
• 200 posts of Doctors and 500 posts of Para-Medicals to be filled up.
• Blood Sugar Testing facility to be provided at Health Sub-Centre level.
• Geriatric Wards to be started in all district hospitals.
• ‘Mukhya Mantri State Health Care Scheme’ to be launched for Treatment of Basic and Critical Ailments of Ekal Naaris and Senior Citizens above 80 years not covered under RSBY or any medical reimbursement scheme.
• Study on Hill Towns through PPP Mode. Moreover, Solid Waste Management to be taken up on pilot basis in Sunder Nagar and Dharamshala Clusters in collaboration with Government of Netherlands.
• Rs. 30 Crore to be provided for execution of Sewerage Schemes in Urban/Semi-Urban areas.
• Urban Local Bodies developing Parking Lots/Facilities to be supported by providing 50 per cent of the Project Cost for which budget provision of ` 15 Crore proposed.
• Circular/Cart Road in Shimla to be widened.
• Additional Grant of Rs. 3 Crore to be provided to MC Shimla for developing Infrastructure for Specific Schemes in the Merged Areas.
• Mixed Land Use to be promoted in all Planning Areas.
• A new Housing Scheme-‘Land Owners become Partners in development with HIMUDA’ to be launched.
• Financial assistance of Rs. 2,500 provided to Women for Self-Employment to be enhanced to Rs. 5,000.
• System of tracking of pregnancy through Anganwari Workers, Asha Workers and village level Monitoring Support Committees to be institutionalised to check female foeticide.
• Girls belonging to the families having up to two daughters without any male issue to be given preference in the Appointment as Anganwari Workers/Helpers.
• Free Medical Facilities to all girl child up to the age of 6 years.
• Scholarship per girl child from 1st to +2 standard under ‘Beti Hai Anmol Yojana’ to be enhanced by 50 per cent.
• Couples adopting permanent family planning after single girl child to get enhanced incentive of Rs. 35,000 and couples adopting permanent family planning after two girls, to get enhanced incentive of Rs. 25,000.
• Government to bear expenditure on further studies in Government Institutions in respect of Girls Leaving Children Homes.
• Social Security Pension of Old Age, Disabled and Widows to be enhanced to Rs. 600 per month. Persons with Disabilities of more than 70 per cent and Senior Citizens above 80 years to get Rs. 1,100 per month as Pension.
• Integrated Scheme for Older Persons to improve their quality of life to be revamped.
• The Aid under Follow-up Programme for the Purchase of Sewing Machine by Women to be enhanced from Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 1,800.
• A Corpus Fund to be set up with Government contribution of Rs. 2 Crore for Development of Minorities.
• All Bonafide Himachalis qualifying UPSC Preliminary Examination for Civil Services to get Coaching Assistance of Rs. 30 Thousand per candidate.
• Financial Assistance to 2nd World War Veterans to be increased from Rs. 2 Thousand to Rs. 3 Thousand.
• A budget of Rs. 3 Crore for the State War Museum at Dharamshala.
• Rs. 2 Crore to be provided for repairs of Sainik Rest Houses.
• All Police Posts to be designated as Subordinate Police Stations enabling them to register FIRs.
• A State of the Art Centre for Cyber Security Investigations and Innovations to be established.
• 2 more Women Police Stations to be opened.
• One Voice Analysis and One Digital Forensic Division to be created in State Forensic Science Laboratory.
• Remuneration to Home Guards to be enhanced from Rs. 260 to Rs. 280 per day.
• Three more Fire Posts to be opened at Ghumarwin, Sarkaghat and Sunni.
• 6 additional Post/Courts of Mobile Traffic Magistrates to be created.
• 5,000 functional posts of different Departments to be filled up.
• 7 per cent Dearness Allowance & Dearness Relief to the State Government Employees/Pensioners to be released with the salary of April, 2015.
• Income Limit for Compassionate Employment to be raised to Rs. 1.50 Lakh per annum.
• Daily Wage increased from Rs. 170 to Rs. 180.
• Daily Wagers completing seven years of service as on 31st March, 2015 to be regularised.
• Part-Timers completing 8 years of service as on 31st March, 2015 to be made Daily Wagers.
• Honorarium of Part-Time Water Carriers increased from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 1,700 per month.
• Contract Employees completing five years of service as on 31st March, 2015 to be regularised.
• Maternity Leave to the Contractual Female Employees to be increased from 112 days to 135 days.
• Daily Wager, Part-Time Workers, Aanganwari Workers/ Helpers and Mid-Day Meal Workers to be covered under ‘Mukhya Mantri State Health Care Scheme’.
• Additional Budget provision of ` 30 Crore for Construction of New Government Residences and` 15 Crore for Repair of Government Residential Houses.
• Rs. 20 Crore to be provided for Police Housing.
• Pension Scheme for MGNREGA Workers, Agriculture and Horticulture Labourers, Shop Workers, Other Workers in the Unorganised Sector.
• The Budget for 2015-16 proposed for Rs. 28,339 Crore.
Shimla-Himachal Pradesh Government employees working in different departments before January 3, 2022, would be given a higher scale at par with other employees on completion of two years tenure of regular service. A higher pay scale was also announced for the Junior Office Assistants (IT) on completion of two years of regular service.
Chief Minister Jairam Thakur made these announcements during the Karamchari Maha Sammelan of the Himachal Pradesh Non-Gazetted Employees Federation at the hotel Peterhof on Sunday.
He appreciated the role played by the employee especially frontline workers in the battle against the pandemic.
He said most of the government employees in the state have been given revised pay scales and on average, every employee has got the benefit of a 12 to 15 percent salary hike. There has also been an increase in the pension of about 1.50 lakh pensioners of the state. The financial benefits of Rs. 7801 crore have been given to state government employees and pensioners from the year 2018 to 2022. The pensioners who retired before 2016 are getting the benefit of a 15 to 20 percent increase in the pension while around 40 thousand pensioners who retired after 2016 would be benefitted soon, he said.
He said the daily wages were Rs. 210 in the year 2017 which has been increased by the present state government to Rs. 350. Similarly, 12 per cent interim relief annually has been provided to government employees and pensioners during the present government’s tenure. He said the Himachal government has provided Dearness Allowance to its employees and pensioners on the lines of Punjab and Central governments from the due date. The Punjab government has given only 5 percent interim relief to the employees while the Himachal government has provided 21 percent interim relief to its employees.
“Out of the total interim relief amount given to the employees and pensioners amounting to about Rs. 6500 crore, Rs. 3500 crore has been paid during the tenure of our government” added the Chief Minister.
He said that the state government has increased the government contribution for NPS employees from 10 percent to 14 percent benefitting more than one lakh employees. The NPS employees are being given the benefits of retirement and death gratuity at par with employees falling under the old pension scheme. The government has also increased the upper limit of death gratuity from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh.
The Chief Minister said the state government has also increased the honorarium of para-workers working in various departments. The salary of outsource workers has been hiked by Rs 1,500 per month.
Non-Gazetted Employees Federation President Ashwani Thakur thanked the Chief Minister for providing various financial and other benefits to different categories of government employees.
New Delhi-The Centre has issued a notification to the States informing that the provisions of the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005 will not be invoked in the country after March 31. The Union Health Ministry said that the use of face masks and following hand hygiene will continue.
It implies that most of the Covid-related rules and restrictions would end.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued the notification which said that the decision was taken following the overall improvement in the situation and the preparedness of the government in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, local authorities and State police can still invoke fines and criminal cases against persons violating COVID-19 norms under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a senior government official said.
The DM Act was invoked on March 24, 2020, due to the pandemic
“Over the last seven weeks or so there has been a steep decline in the number of cases. The total caseload in the country stands at 23,913 only and the daily positivity rate has declined to 0.28%. It is also worth mentioning that with the combined efforts, a total of 181.56 Cr vaccine doses have been administered,” the notification said.
“I would like to mention that in view of the nature of the disease, we still need to remain watchful of the situation. Wherever any surge in the number of cases is observed, the States/UTs may consider taking prompt and proactive action at a local level, as advised by MoHFW (Health Ministry) from time to time,” the notification said.
The Indian government had issued various guidelines and measures for the first time on March 24, 2020, under the Disaster Management Act to curb the COVID-19 situation in the country, which have been modified several times thereafter.
India currently has 23,087 active COVID-19 cases and recorded 1,778 new cases and 62 deaths in the last 24 hours. The daily positivity rate has also declined to 0.28%.
Shimla-A meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet was held on March 20, 2022, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
The excise policy for the financial year 2022-23 was approved. Approval was also given for the renewal of retail excise vends in the state for the financial year 2022-23 at the renewal fees of 4% of the value of unit/vend.
The State Government said that wants to enhance the government revenue and curb the smuggling of country liquor from the neighbouring states by a reduction in its price.
The brands of Country Liquor will be cheaper as license fees have been reduced. This will help in providing good quality liquor at a cheaper rate to the consumers.
In the new excise policy, the 15% fixed quota of country liquor for manufacturers and bottlers to be supplied to the retail licensees has been abolished. According to the government, this step will give the retail licensees to lift their quota from the suppliers of their choice and further assure the supply of good quality country liquor at competitive prices. The MRP of country liquor will be cheaper by 16% of the existing price.
In this year’s policy, the Gaudhan Vikas Nidhi Fund has been enhanced by Re.1/- from the existing Rs.1.50 to Rs.2.50.
The fixed annual license fee of Bars has been rationalized by abolishing the area-specific slabs of license fee. Now throughout the State, there will be uniform license slabs based upon the room capacity in hotels.
Rates of the annual fixed license fee of Bars in the tribal areas has been reduced considerably.
Further, all the above stakeholders will have to install CCTV cameras at their establishments as it was made mandatory for them.
Wholesale vends and retail vends, the penalty provisions under the H.P. Excise Act, 2011 have been made more stringent.
An end to end online Excise Administration System would be established in Himachal Pradesh, the government said.
HP Government estimates a collection of Rs 2131 crore revenue during the year, which will be Rs. 264 crores higher than the financial year 2021-22 – growth of 14% in state excise revenues.
The Cabinet also gave its nod to amend Himachal Pradesh Disaster Relief Manual-2012 to include deaths due to biting of honey bees, hornet and wasps, accidental drowning and deaths due to accidents of vehicles (including land, water and air) under this Manual.
The Cabinet gave its approval for filling up 11 posts of ‘A’ Class Tehsildar in Revenue Department through direct recruitment on regular basis through Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission.
HP State Toll Policy 2022-23
The HP Cabinet also gave its nod to HP State Toll Policy for the year 2022-23 which envisages auction cum tender for all the toll barriers in the State. During the year 2021-22, toll revenue has registered a growth of 20 percent of the previous year’s revenue.
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