Himachal Pradesh Cabinet authorises DMs to extend restrictive orders till June 30

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 25 : Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Monday authorised all District Magistrates (DMs) in the State to extend the order issued by them under Section 144 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure up to June 30 in view of the coronavirus crisis.
"The Cabinet authorised all the District Magistrates of the State under the proviso of Sub-Section (4) of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to extend the order issued by them under Section 144 (1) of the Code up to 30th June 2020," said the Information and Public Relations Department of Himachal Pradesh government in a statement on Monday.
Following the Cabinet decision, Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena announced that the regulations under Section 144 of CrPC imposed in Hamirpur district are extended to June 30.
Himachal Pradesh has so far reported 203 cases of COVID-19, including 63 cured patients and three deaths.
The Cabinet, in its meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, also decided to allow the private schools to charge only tuition fee for the lockdown period.
It decided to implement the recommendations of 15th Central Finance Commission in the State, under which out of the total grants received from it, 70 per cent would be provided to Gram Panchayats, 15 per cent to Panchayat Samitis and 15 per cent would be allocated to Zila Parishads for undertaking various developmental works.
The Cabinet decided to upgrade Veterinary Hospital at Nagrota Bagwan in Kangra district to Zonal Veterinary Hospital along with the creation and filling up of seven posts of different categories to man this hospital.
It gave its nod to start a scheme for the 'Rehabilitation of Stray Cattle' in Himachal Pradesh to solve the problems of stray cattle, encourage individuals and organisations to adopt stray cattle, provide assistance for running of cow sanctuaries and cow shelters in the State.
"In the initial phase, it was decided to provide Rs 500 per cow for cows in gau sadans/gaushalas and cow sanctuaries. Animal Husbandry Department was advised to complete tagging under the Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH) Scheme as per the Government of India's guidelines at the earliest," the statement said.
The Cabinet also decided to establish three Fast Track Special Courts at Shimla, Rampur for Kinnaur district and at Nahan for Sirmaur district to deal with the rape/POCSO cases for a period of one year.
According to the statement, the Cabinet also gave its nod to complete shifting of work transactions of Jal Shakti Department and Public Works Department to Treasury Mode by abolishing the LOC system from July 1, 2020.
"The Cabinet decided to transfer land in favour of Ministry of Defence, Government of India, for the establishment of ECHS Polyclinic and ESM, CSD Canteen at Dehra Gopipur in district Kangra free of cost to facilitate the ex-servicemen and army personnel of the State," the statement said.
It has also decided to levy transfer fee at the time of issue of permits under L-19 A licenses from local distilleries
(D-2) located within the State for procurement of all kinds of spirits like ethyl alcohol, ethanol, etc, which would give additional revenue of about Rs five crore to the State exchequer.
The Cabinet also decided to amend the Mukhya Mantri Swavlamban Yojna-2019 to make it more lucrative.
"Now units sanctioned under this scheme should come into commercial production within one year from the date of disbursement of the first instalment of loan by the bank under the Scheme for both manufacturing and service enterprises," said the statement.