The Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Thursday approved inclusion of families with no adult members between 18 and 59 years, headed by women or whose head has a disability of 50 per cent or more under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list. Families that worked for at least 100 days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in the previous financial year and 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 are also included in the BPL list, a statement issued here said.
The state cabinet, in its meeting presided by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, approved the establishment of a special task force (STF) to combat drug abuse and dismantle drug trafficking and organised crime networks in the state through a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach. Besides, the cabinet has decided to promulgate an ordinance amending Schedule 1A of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. This amendment will enable 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 sanction from the state government.
The cabinet gave its nod to rename the Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) as Dr Manmohan Singh Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration. It also paid tributes to the former prime minister, observed two minutes of silence in his memory and acknowledged his significant contributions to the nation and state’s development. The cabinet noted that several key projects in the state like Atal Tunnel, three medical colleges, ESIC Hospital at Ner Chowk, IIT Mandi, IIIT Una, Central University and National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Kangra were realised due to Singh’s vision and support.
