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Himachal Pradesh Government
Robotic surgery will be operational at the medical colleges in Hamirpur, Nerchowk in Mandi, and the IGMC in Shimla by January 2026, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in the Vidhan Sabha on Monday. In addition, smart labs are being established at Chamiyana and IGMC in Shimla and Tanda near Dharamsala, Sukhu said in a reply during the Question Hour, adding that the government is investing Rs 3,000 crore in the health sector. The state government aims to provide AIIMS Delhi-standard healthcare to its 7.5 million population. Patients in Himachal Pradesh are being charged on the lines of PGI Chandigarh, Sukhu said. Since the launch of robotic surgery in the state, 78 operations have been performed at Chamiyana, Shimla, and 38 at the Tanda Medical College, Kangra, in the past two months, he said. Responding to a supplementary question by BJP MLA Bikram Thakur, the chief minister said the training process for doctors is different, and funds are spent on the lines
The 10-day winter session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly began on Wednesday with a discussion on the deferment of elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) and Urban Local Bodies (ULB) after the Opposition BJP moved an adjournment motion. Speaking on the motion, leader of the opposition (LOP) Jai Ram Thakur hit out at the government and accused it of delaying the PRI elections, fearing defeat. The elections to over 3,500 gram panchayats in the state are slated for December 2025-January 2026. The last date for conducting the elections is January 23, and the State Election Commission has set the ball rolling by initiating the preparation of electoral rolls. However, in a notification issued on October 9, Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta announced that the polls will be held "only after restoration of proper connectivity", considering the damage to roads and private and public properties due to monsoon havoc this year. The state cabinet on Monday (November 24) approved the ...
In the wake of rain-related disasters in several parts of Himachal Pradesh, the norms under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have been relaxed in the state, increasing the number of annual man-days from 100 to 150, officials said on Friday. The revised guidelines will be specially applicable in areas where disasters wreaked havoc. The Himachal Pradesh government has declared the entire state as calamity hit and as such it was natural that the demand under MGNREGA would be more. Keeping this in view, the Union Ministry of Agriculture, Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development has recommended an additional 50 days under MGNREGA, which has been approved, an official release said. The additional man-days would be generated with the consent of the state and the Central government and the work would start with the budget available for the projects already approved where additional labour would be engaged, wherever required, the release said. Since the onset of ...
A woman was killed in a landslide while four other members of her family are feared to have been buried under the debris in the Nirmand area of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district. Two houses were completely damaged following the landslide triggered by heavy rains around 1:30 am on Monday night in the Sharmani village of Ghatu panchayat in the district. One body has been recovered and four other members of the family are feared trapped in the rubble, said gram panchayat pradhan Bhoga Ram on Tuesday. The deceased woman has been identified as Brasiti Devi, wife of Shiv Ram While Chunni Lal, Anju, Jagriti and Pupesh are still missing and search operations are underway in the village, he said. Three people -- Dharam Das, his wife Kala Devi and Shiv Ram -- sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Nirmand hospitals by the villagers. He said that the administration and the office of sub-divisional magistrate have been informed about the tragedy, and the villagers were engaged in search
About 14,000 Himachal government employees serving in 89 categories will be affected by the HP Civil Services (Revised Pay) Second Amendment Rules 2025, notified by the government on Saturday. The amendment provides for omitting section 7A of the rules inserted on January 3, 2022, affecting about 14,000 employees, who would suffer a loss of between Rs 5,000 and 15,000 per month after re-fixation of the revised pay scale, with effect from January 1, 2016, Federation of Secretarial Employees Union Sanjeev Sharma said on Sunday. "We discussed the issue in detail with other employees' outfits and decided to meet the chief minister, chief secretary and Principal Secretary (Finance) on Monday and plead for withdrawing the notification regarding the amended Rules," he added. He said that the decision would impact the employees in the lower and middle sections. "Employees adjust their expenses, including school fees of children, loan instalments and other regular expenses as per the salary
Himachal Pradesh government will ensure multinational companies set up in the state do not spend their CSR funds outside, Industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said in the Assembly on Friday. Raising the issue during the question hour, Sanjay Awasthi (Congress) named two large companies that are located in his Arki constituency and said the people there have been affected because of their projects, but funds under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) are not being used by them for the welfare of the locals. Responding to the remarks, Industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan admitted that multinational companies were spending CSR funds in other states and not in Himachal. He assured that the government will enquire about the complaints regarding violations of environmental safeguards. Congress MLA from Doon Ram Kumar stressed that CSR funds should be used at the places where such companies are located and BJP MLA from Bilaspur Trilok Jamwal also complained that the company i
The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) turned profitable in financial year 2024-25, earning a profit of Rs 315 crore, an official statement said. Until March 31, 2024, HPSEBL had accumulated losses amounting to Rs 3,742 crore. "After facing losses for many years, this is the highest profit ever recorded by the board. This milestone is not just a number, but a reflection of the commitment of the present state government to its vision of a 'Nai Soch, Naya Himachal'," a government spokesperson said in the statement. The present Himachal government, through its reforms, transparent administrative policies and financial discipline helped the board recover from losses and turn profitable, he said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the success was the result of a clear policy, honest governance and a welfare-oriented approach. As per the statement, for 2024-25, an amount of Rs 368.89 crore was approved for gratuity, medical reimbursement, revised pension .
The Supreme Court has flagged the ecological imbalance in Himachal Pradesh and cautioned that the entire state may "vanish in thin air" if the situation does not change. Observing that the situation in Himachal Pradesh has gone from bad to worse, the apex court said climate change is having a "visible and alarming impact" on the state. "We want to impress upon the state government and Union of India that earning revenue is not everything. Revenue cannot be earned at the cost of environment and ecology," a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said. "If things proceed the way they are as on date, the day is not far when the entire state of HP may vanish in thin air from the map of the country. God forbid this doesn't happen," it said. The top court made the observations on July 28 while dealing with a petition against an order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which declined to entertain a plea challenging the state's June 2025 notification declaring certain areas as "gr