HP Cabinet okays land rights to houses built on encroachment

Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday decided to provide a financial assistance of Rs 30,000 for coaching to those aspirants from the state who have qualified the preliminary examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for joining prestigious civil services.

The assistance would be available only to bonafide Himachalis, irrespective of their family income, officials said.

Also, in a major relief to people who had constructed houses on encroached government lands since the British era but, did not have the ownership rights, the Cabinet decided to give malikana rights (ownership) to them, which is likely to benefit hundreds of house owners in Krishna Nagar, Lakkar Bazar, Boileauganj, Chotta Shimla and some other areas.

Due to encroachments, these houses were not regularised and after the implementation of the decision, decks would be cleared for regularisation of encroachments on land.

The Cabinet approved the draft of governor's address for the Budget session of Vidhan Sabha commencing on February 25.

It gave nod to the revised Eco-Tourism Policy, 2016, aimed at preserving and protecting the flora and fauna and cultural heritage of the state, besides providing opportunities to the people to enhance their livelihood, generate resources for sustainable development and promote greater understanding through authentic eco-tourism incentives.

In order to effectively implement the orders to ban sale of loose cigarettes, the Cabinet decided to make mandatory the registration of retailers of tobacco products.

It also approved the project implementation plan of World Bank-funded Himachal Pradesh horticulture development project worth Rs 1,114.75 crore.

The project would be sent to the Centre for World Bank funding.

In another major decision it also gave its nod to recalculate the compensation amount in terms of Section 24(2) and first provision of the Right to Fair and Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013.