Shimla, April 12
The 4 per cent general sales tax on chemical fertilisers was today abolished by the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet to benefit the farmers.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal.

The Cabinet also decided to redesignate the post of Financial Commissioner as Principal Secretary and that of Commissioner-cum-Secretary as Secretary to the government.

It was also decided to introduce high-security number plates for vehicles as per the guidelines of the Centre. The new system will come into force for new vehicles from June 30,2002, and for old vehicles from June 30,2004.

An official spokesman said the Cabinet approved the upgradation of four primary schools to the middle standard, 15 middle schools to the high standard and 19 high schools to the senior secondary standard. It also approved the creation of 24 posts for middle schools, 105 posts for high schools and 418 posts for senior secondary schools.

The Cabinet also approved the creation of 236 posts of Headmaster for senior secondary schools.

It was also decided to exempt the existing and new information technology units from sales tax till March 31,2007. The bio-technology sector sales tax has been exempted up to March 31,2012, on the downstream industries established as a consequence of research and development.

The Cabinet decided to grant no-objection certificate in favour of the Vardhman Educational Society, Nalagarh, to set up a general nursing course at Nalagarh and a nursing and multi-purpose female health worker training institute at Chouwari in Chamba district.