News
Expecting More Cases With Movement of Returnees, Curfew to Continue Till May 31: HP Govt
Shimla-Himachal Pradesh Government on May 17, 2020, officially announced the extension of the lockdown till May 31.
The announcement came after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India (GoI) issued an order, on May 18, under the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005, for extension of the lockdown till May 31, 2020. The State has decided the curfew would remain in effect as it is.
The Government said as the number of COVID-19 cases has been continuously rising, the circumstances require restrictions through curfew.
The Government also attributed the cause of a surge in COVID-19 positive cases to the return of over 1.5 lakh people who were stranded in other States. Over 60, 000 more are have applied for passes and would be returning to the State in the upcoming days.
The Government has urged the people returning from other States to behave as responsible citizens and follow home-quarantine strictly for the sake of the people of the State.
Currently, the number of active cases in Himachal has risen to 80, out of which half of the cases have appeared within the last two weeks owing to State’s Government’s lackadaisical attitude towards taking sufficient measures and well-thought strategy for management of the mass movement of people into the State.
The tally of active cases is 32 as one of the patients in Kangra’s Jamanabad recovered and tested negative for COVID-19. The tally for COVID-19 deaths has also risen to three as two deaths were reported within the last two weeks. The Health Department statistics say that a total of 17417 persons have been tested in the State till May 17 and 21343 people were under surveillance.
On May 17, the State reported two more positive cases. Both cases were reported from Hamirpur district’s Naduan area.
In the first case, a 59-year-old, who had returned from Mumbai in a taxi with five others, tested positive. He hails from gram panchayat Kardi village.
The second person who tested positive belongs to Tayongli village. He had returned from Mumbai in a taxi as well which he shared with two others.
Both cases were transferred to Bhota COVID hospital, an official of the Health Department confirmed. The Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, Harikesh Meena, has ordered sealing the areas from where the cases were reported.
The salient features of the new guidelines are as follows:
States to decide various Zones
Under the new guidelines, States and Union Territories (UTs) will now delineate Red, Green and Orange zones taking into consideration the parameters shared by the Health Ministry. The zones can be a district, or a municipal corporation/ municipality or even smaller administrative units such as sub-divisions, etc, as decided by States and UTs.
Within the red and orange zones, containment and buffer zones will be demarcated by the local authorities, after taking into consideration the Health Ministry guidelines.
Within the containment zones, only essential activities shall be allowed. Strict perimeter control would be maintained, and no movement of persons would be allowed, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining the supply of essential goods and services. Buffer zones are areas adjoining each containment zone, where new cases are more likely to appear. In the buffer zones, more caution needs to be exercised.
Activities Prohibited throughout the Country
A limited number of activities will continue to remain prohibited throughout the country. These include:
- all domestic and international air travel of passengers, except for domestic medical services, domestic air ambulance and for security purposes or purposes as permitted by MHA;
- metro rail services;
- running of schools, colleges, educational and training/coaching institutions;
- hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services, except for the running of canteens in bus depots, railway stations and airports;
- places of large public gatherings such as cinemas, shopping malls, gymnasiums entertainment parks, etc.;
- social, political, cultural and similar gatherings and other large congregations; and, access to religious places/places of worship for the public.
However, online/ distance learning would be permitted and encouraged; and, restaurants will be allowed to operate kitchens for home delivery of food items.
Opening up of Sports Activities
Sports complexes and stadia will be permitted to open only for sports activities. However, spectators will not be allowed in these complexes.
Activities permitted with restrictions
To facilitate the movement of persons, various modes of transport have already been opened up. Movement of individuals by trains has been permitted earlier by MHA through an order dated 11.05.2020. Further, evacuation of foreign nationals from India, the return of stranded Indian nationals from abroad, sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers, and intra-State and inter-State movement of stranded persons by bus and train, will continue to be allowed.
Inter-State movement of vehicles and buses has also been allowed with mutual consent of the concerned States/ UTs. Intra-State movement of vehicles and buses can be decided by the States and UTs.
National Directives for COVID-19 management
The guidelines specify the National Directives for COVID-19 management, which would apply to public places and workplaces.
Under these guidelines, wearing of face covers is compulsory; spitting will be punishable with fine as may be prescribed in accordance with its laws, rules or regulations by the State/ UT local authority; and social distancing is to be followed by all persons in public places and during transport. Marriage-related gathering should not have more than 50 guests. For funerals/ last rites, the maximum number of persons allowed has been kept at 20. Consumption of liquor, paan, gutkha and tobacco etc., is not allowed in public places.
The National Directives also stipulate additional requirements for workplaces. The practice of work from home (WfH) should be followed to the extent possible, and staggering of work hours should be adopted in respect of all offices and other establishments. There should be provision for thermal scanning, hand wash and sanitizers at all entry and exit points and common areas; and all workplaces and other sensitive locations are to be sanitized regularly. In workplaces, social distancing would also need to be ensured through adequate distance between workers, adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch break of staff and so on.
Stipulations regarding Shops and Markets
Local authorities should ensure that shops and markets open with staggered timings, to ensure social distancing. All shops should also have to ensure six feet distance (2 gaz ki doori) among customers and also not allow more than 5 persons at one time.
Night Curfew
Night Curfew will continue to remain in force on the movement of individuals, for all non-essential activities, between 7 pm and 7 am.
Protection for Vulnerable Persons
Vulnerable persons, i.e., persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, should stay at home, except for meeting essential requirements and for health purposes.
All activities to be Permitted other than the limited number of those that are prohibited or restricted
All other activities will be permitted except those which are specifically prohibited under these guidelines. However, in containment zones, only essential activities would be allowed, as mentioned earlier.
States to decide on activities within various Zones
States/ UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain other activities in the various zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary.
Use of Aarogya Setu
Employers on best effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Setu mobile application is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones.
District authorities have been asked to advise individuals to install the Aarogya Setu application on compatible mobile phones and regularly update their health status on the app. State/ UT Governments have been asked continue to strictly enforce the lockdown guidelines and they shall not dilute these guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in any manner.
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