Himachal Cabinet Rolls Out Big Relief Package for Disaster Victims, Ups House Damage Aid to ₹7 Lakh
Also clears new forest scheme, scrapping tax concession, medical seat hike and more
Shimla, July 28:
In a major decision aimed at providing urgent relief to disaster-hit families across Himachal Pradesh, the state Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday approved a special compensation package, dramatically hiking aid amounts for damaged properties and livelihoods.
The biggest push comes in the form of enhanced house damage compensation — from the existing ₹1.30 lakh to ₹7 lakh for completely damaged houses, and from ₹12,500 to ₹1 lakh for partial damage. For shops and dhabas, the aid now jumps tenfold to ₹1 lakh. Even cowsheds now fetch ₹50,000 in relief (up from ₹10,000).
Tenants will receive ₹50,000 for loss of belongings, while owners will get ₹70,000. Compensation for the loss of big milch animals rises to ₹55,000 (up from ₹37,500), and for goats, pigs, and sheep, it’s more than doubled from ₹4,000 to ₹9,000.
On the farming front, the land damage compensation is now pegged at ₹10,000 per bigha (up from ₹3,900), crop loss at ₹3,000 per bigha (earlier ₹500), and de-silting aid jumps from ₹1,500 to ₹6,000 per bigha. Fully damaged poly-houses will get ₹25,000; ₹50,000 will be given for house de-silting.
The Cabinet also condemned the recent misbehavior with the Revenue Minister and disrespect to the national flag during his Mandi visit. It extended condolences to disaster-affected families and urged the public to contribute to the Aapda Rahat Kosh.
Other Key Decisions:
New Forest Scheme: Approval for Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojna with ₹100 crore outlay over 5 years. Community groups to get up to ₹1.2 lakh per hectare for plantation.
Municipal Election Rules amended to ensure smoother polls and vest election programme notification powers with the State Election Commission.
Medical seats hike: B.Sc. paramedical course seats increased from 10/18 to 50 at IGMC Shimla and RPGMC Tanda.
Milk Plant at Rohru: Land allotted to Milkfed for new processing unit at Mehandali.
Vehicle scrapping incentive: 50% motor vehicle tax concession for scrapping BS-I, BS-II vehicles at registered scrapping units.
Healthcare boost: PHC Dhaneta in Hamirpur upgraded to CHC; eight new posts for palliative care at IGMC.
Policing revamp: New police post at Khaira (Sunni), jurisdiction shift of Hatli Post (Chamba), and planning area reconstitution in Mandi.
Urban reforms: Jawali upgraded to Municipal Council, Sunni downgraded to Nagar Panchayat by excluding certain areas.
Administrative ease: Sub-Tehsil Lauharaghat moved from Arki to Nalagarh (Solan) for public convenience.
Prison reform: For the first time, 15 convicts granted pre-mature release with conditions under Sentence Review Board recommendations.