3,284 new posts of teacher
HP raises travel
allowance by 60 p.c.
Tribune
News Service
SHIMLA, Dec 1 The
Himachal Government today revised the travel and daily
allowances and doubled the special pay for various
categories of employees.
The decision was taken at
the meeting of the state Cabinet, which met under the
chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, this
evening. It also decided to restore the special pay and
secretariat allowance of certain categories of employees.
The travel and daily
allowance has been increased by 60 per cent. The revised
daily allowance will range from Rs 32 to Rs 80. The
revised rate will be applicable from January 1, 1999. The
special pay, which has been revised with effect from
September 1, 1997, will vary from Rs 80 to Rs 1000 per
month. The arrears on this account will be credited to
the provident fund up to March 31, 1999. The revision of
allowances will put an additional burden of Rs 17.10
crore on the state exchequer annually.
The Cabinet approved a
career progression scheme for the benefit of employees
facing stagnation. Under the scheme, any employee who
fails to get a promotion will get the next higher scale
after eight years and a step-up after 16 years and 24
years. In case there is no promotion over the next eight
years, the employee would be given the next scale after
completing 32 years of service.
The Cabinet also created
3284 posts of JBT teachers and decided to fill 5603 posts
to regularise the services of 4159 voluntary teachers.
It also approved creation
of 36 posts of subdivisional ayurvedic chikitsa adhikari
and as many posts of clerks to suppot them. They will
also be given drawing and disbursing powers. In the
Welfare Department, 262 posts of helper and safai
karamchari were created under the Integrated Child
Development Scheme.
It also approved raising
of loans o the tune of Rs 5.94 crore from HUDCO for
construction of housing board colonies at Rohroo and
Palampur.
The Cabinet also decided
to increase the subsidy on farm inputs in non-irrigated
areas by 10 per cent and reduce sales tax on edible oils.
The rate of sales tax, which was 8 per cent on edible oil
and 6 per cent on refined oil, has now been brought down
to 4 per cent uniformly.
As per another decision,
the government will recover sales tax on motor spirit at
the first stage from the supplier oil companies instead
of individual petrol stations. It decided to impose 8 per
cent sales tax on mineral water in line with the
neighbouring states.
Mr P.K. Dhumal, who
briefed newspersons, said that henceforth ministers would
attend office every Monday to Friday afternoon. They
would meet legislators on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
and the public on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the
forenoon. In case any minister had to go out of station
he would have to inform the Chief Minister's Secretariat.
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