Shimla: May 03
To revive the coronavirus-hit economy the Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday decided to launch a programme guaranteeing at least 120 days’ employment to those living in urban areas. The cabinet decided to launch the Mukhya Mantri Shahari Rojgar Guarantee Yojna, under which 120 days’ assured employment will be provided to people living in urban areas, an official spokesperson said.
If required, adequate training will be given to them for their skill upgrade, the cabinet decided in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday. The spokesperson said thousands of residents of Himachal Pradesh had returned to their native places from other states due to the coronavirus crisis. They have vast experience and expertise in various fields. They will be identified and trained accordingly to provide them employment and self-employment avenues,” he added. Task force headed by Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh has also been set up to give suggestions for other remedial measures. The task force includes Education and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Industries Minister Bikram Singh and Transport Minister Govind Thakur, he added.
The cabinet also decided to provide an assistance of Rs 2,000 to each of the one lakh workers registered under the Building and Other Construction Workers
It was also decided to waive electricity demand charges of the tourism industry for six months, thereby providing them a relief of about Rs 15 crore, the spokesperson added. A sum of Rs 55 crore help will be provided to Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC). Similarly, excise and taxation licence fee will be waived and the lifting quota of bars will be on a pro-rata basis. Stating that it was decided to compensate agriculturists and horticulturists to some extent as they faced a huge loss due to the pandemic, the spokesperson, however, did not provide details about compensation.