In a meeting, held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in Dharamsala today, the Cabinet decided to extend the special relief package introduced for disaster-affected families in 2023.

The package has been extended for those impacted by the fire incident in Tandi village of Kullu district.

Under this package, affected families of Tandi village will receive Rs 7 lakh for completely damaged houses, Rs 1 lakh for partially damaged houses and Rs 50,000 for the loss of cowsheds.

A monthly house rental assistance of Rs 5,000 will be provided to the affected families until June 30, 2025.

The Cabinet also approved the procurement of state-of-the-art machinery and equipment for robotic surgery at AIMSS Chamiyana and Shimla, and Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, Kangra, at a cost of Rs 56 crore, on analogy of AIIMS, New Delhi.

The Cabinet approved an amendment to the previous order of the Forest Department, allowing the export of berberis roots (Kashmal out of state with a cut-off date of 15th February, 2025).

Forest produce extracted from open spaces prior to January 4, 2025, will be permitted for transportation until 15th February, 2025, in accordance with the provisions of the HP Forest Produce Transit (Land Routes) Rules, 2013.

It approved the establishment of a ropeway between Kullu Bus Stand and Peej Paragliding Point to provide tourists with a smooth and safe transportation facility, thereby boosting tourism in the region.

It also decided to fill nine posts of Block Development Officers in the Department of Rural Development.

The Cabinet decided to reorganise the PWD National Highway Circle, Shahpur, by creating two new divisions — Nankhadi and Kholighat, as well as the Kharahan Section.

The Cabinet sanctioned the procurement of 24 air-conditioned super luxury buses for HRTC to enhance services for passengers.

It also approved 100 motorbikes to field offices of the State Taxes and Excise Department to ensure better enforcement and surprise checks.

The Cabinet approved a pilot study on cannabis cultivation to be jointly undertaken by Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, Kangra and Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture, Nauni, Solan. The study will evaluate and recommend the future roadmap in this matter.

The Agriculture Department was designated as the nodal department for this initiative.

It approved bringing the posts of Drivers, all Class-III and Class-IV posts in DC offices, as well as the staff posted in the offices of the three Divisional Commissioners, Director Land Records, Revenue Training Institute Jogindernagar (Mandi), Directorate of Consolidation of Holdings (Shimla), Settlement Office, Kangra, and Settlement Office, Shimla, under the ambit of the State Cadre. This decision aims to ensure uniformity and improve governance.

It also approved to rename Government College Seema in Shimla district as Raja Virbhadra Singh Government College ,Seema; GGSSS, Sports Hostel (Girls) Jubbal as Ram Lal Thakur GGSSS, Sports Hostel (Girls), Jubbal; and Government College, Khad, in Una district as Mohan Lal Dutt Government College, Khad.

A detailed presentation was also given on the revival of stalled hydro projects and restructuring of directorates in the education department.

A shocking incident unfolded in Manali on Wednesday evening, when a youth was brutally murdered during the ongoing Winter Carnival event at the Manurangshala Pavilion.

The victim, identified as Daksh, a resident of Vashishth village near Manali, was fatally attacked while the cultural programmes were taking place in the pavilion.

According to eyewitness accounts, a scuffle broke out between four youths in the pavilion during the event. The altercation escalated quickly, with one of the accused attacking Daksh with a sharp-edged weapon.

The victim was struck in a violent manner, leaving him in a pool of blood. In the chaos that followed, the assailants fled the scene, leaving Daksh critically injured.

The victim was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Manali by onlookers, where medical professionals attempted to stabilise his condition. However, despite their best efforts, Daksh succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.

This tragic loss has left the local community in shock, with many expressing disbelief over the violence that marred what is typically a joyous occasion for both residents and tourists.

The police have launched an intensive manhunt to track down the culprits responsible for this brutal crime. Investigations are ongoing, and authorities have assured the public that they are doing everything possible to bring justice to the victim.

While presiding over the meeting of the officers of Kangra district in Dharamsala yesterday, he said that the year 2025 would be “Year of Performance” for the state government and all officers and officials must extend their cooperation for development of the state.

He directed officials to end the practice of delaying matters, calling it “delayed corruption.”

The state government was providing budgets for all the schemes, ensuring that there was no shortage of resources for development.

The government’s goal is to make Himachal Pradesh self-reliant and to ensure that welfare schemes reach the eligible beneficiaries.

The CM said that the government was focusing on the health and education sectors and Rs 1,500 crore would be spent in the coming months to procure modern equipment for health institutions.

The state government was making efforts to boost tourism in Kangra district. An international-level zoological park was being established in Bankhandi, Dehra Assembly constituency. The construction has begun and the first phase was expected to be completed by April 2026.

Tenders for the construction of heliports in Rakkar and Palampur will be opened this month. The construction of the Pathankot-Mandi and Matour-Shimla four-lane highways is underway, with instructions to keep a 5-meter median on these roads, he said.

He said the government was working to strengthen the rural economy by encouraging natural farming. In Kangra district 8,894 farmers were engaged in natural farming and their mapping was necessary.

The government has procured 48.32 metric tonnes of maize produced through natural farming from 294 farmers and has made payments to them. Natural farming products were being promoted under the “Him-Bhog” brand, he said.

The Chief Minister directed the officials to ensure better marketing of products made by self-help groups.

He asked them to allocate some shops in shopping complexes in the urban areas of the district to women self-help groups to enhance their income.

The selection criteria for BPL families was being changed, increasing the income limit to Rs 1.50 lakh annually. A new survey will begin in April this year.

He said that during last year’s disaster, the state government provided a special relief package of Rs. 4,500 crores to affected families. Two installments have been released to rehabilitate 383 fully destroyed homes in Kangra district and the third installment will be released soon.

Sukhu also directed officers to explore the possibilities of establishing solar energy projects in Kangra district and accelerate the creation of green panchayats.

BPL selection criteria being changed

The selection criteria for BPL families was being changed, increasing the income limit to Rs 1.50 lakh annually. A new survey will begin in April this year.

He said that during last year’s disaster, the state government provided a special relief package of Rs. 4,500 crores to affected families. Two installments have been released to rehabilitate 383 fully destroyed homes in Kangra district and the third installment will be released soon.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today laid foundation and inaugurated development projects worth Rs 88 crore in Kangra.

While addressing a public gathering at Matour in the Kangra Assembly constituency, he said that the previous BJP government was responsible for poor financial condition of state.

The government doled out subsidies to the rich which severely impacted financial condition of the state.

The Chief Minister also announced setting up of a division of the Jal Shakti Department in Kangra and assured the introduction of new courses in Matour College.

He also announced strengthening of water and electricity schemes in the area and said that the construction work for the Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding School in Kangra would begin soon. He also announced to construct a new bridge over Jalodi Khad.

He said the Kangra district would witness a significant development over the next five years and the present state government would ensure progress and prosperity at grassroots level.

The people of the area would get improved water supply, healthcare and other essential facilities nearer to their homes.

The Chief Minister said the government was committed to revitalise the rural economy as over 80 per cent of the population of the state resides in rural areas and highlighted several measures to strengthen the rural sector.

The government has raised the purchase price of milk by Rs 15 and for the first time launched a scheme to purchase cow-dung in state.

Apart from this, the state has procured 4,000 metric tonnes of maize produced through natural farming at Rs 30 per kilogram. From the next season, wheat produced through natural farming will also be procured at Rs 40 per kilogram.

He said the daily wage for MNREGA workers had been increased by Rs 60, raising it from Rs 240 to Rs 300. These efforts aim to empower rural community.

A milk processing plant with a capacity of 1.5 lakh litres was being established at Dhagwar in Kangra which would benefit approximately three lakh farmers.

He criticised the previous BJP government education policy, which led to the decline of enrolment in schools. The present government was working to improve the education system to meet future challenges.

The government has also made reforms in the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) norms to evaluate performance of all officers and officials of the state government.

Necessary reforms were being made in the health sector. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been sanctioned for advanced machinery in Tanda, IGMC and Ner Chowk Medical Colleges.

The Chief Minister said that reforms introduced by the state government were aimed at benefiting the common masses and dealing with challenges poised to state’s resources.

He urged the public to support the decisions of the government, including the rationalisation of subsidies, and encouraging the affluent to forgo subsidies.

He said the policies and actions of the previous BJP government had widened the gap between the rich and the poor.

“Our government has settled over 2.42 lakh pending revenue cases through special ‘Intkal Adalats’, organised for the first time in the state” he said.

Apart from this, the government has sanctioned 31,000 posts in various departments, as compared to 20,000 during the BJP’s governments stint in power.

An officer of the Public Works Department, Touni Devi, here was fined Rs 5 for not attending Panchayat Samiti meetings for four years.

The fine was imposed in the quarterly meeting of the Panchayat Samiti, Hamirpur, Harish Sharma, the chairman of the samiti said on Tuesday.

The meeting held on Monday was chaired by Sharma.

The Rs 5 fine has been imposed as a token to apprise the officer of his duties and send a message to others, Sharma said. It would be mentioned in the annual confidential report of the officer.

Sharma said the PWD officials of Tauni Devi Mandal were absent from the meeting despite repeated warnings. Due to this, the development work was getting affected. A decision was taken with the consent of all members and the fine was imposed.

However, Devraj, Executive Engineer, PWD, said he was not aware of the meeting. He said he would check if his office received any information on this.

The Himachal Government will soon invite tenders for the country’s longest Rs 5,602 crore ropeway between Parwanoo and Shimla aimed at reducing travel time and traffic congestion on this stretch which witnesses heavy vehicular movement.

With the detailed project report (DPR) of the project being submitted by the Tata Consultancy, it is by the end of this month that global bids will be invited for the ambitious project.

The 40-km ropeway, which will have 11 stations with a two hour travel time will emerge as a major tourist attraction.

“The ropeway will be set up under public-private partnership (PPP) mode and the target for completion is 2030,” said Ajay Sharma, Director, Ropeways Transport Development Corporation (RTDC). He said once commissioned the ropeway will ferry 25 lakh passengers to and fro annually.

The ropeway will have 11 stations at Tara Devi (Goyal Motors), Tara Devi temple, Shighi, Waknaghat, Waknaghat IT City, Karol Ka Tibba, Solan, Barog, Dagghai Cantonment, Jabali and Parwanoo.

During peak tourist season and movement of apple laden trucks, the travel time on this 90 km stretch reaches up to five hours even though the construction of the fourlane highway will reduce travel time.

“We are expecting that the ropeway will ferry about 25 lakh persons in a year and the peak capacity of about one crore will be achieved by the year 2063,” said Sharma. As per the feasibility studies, the ropeway will ferry about 904 persons per hour per direction on its launch in 2030.

Aimed at decongesting the road, the ropeway, the longest in Himachal will attract even more tourists to Himachal, many of whom are not very keen to take the long road journey. On an average, about 22,000 vehicles ply to and from on this road stretch which even touched 40,000 on special occasions like Christmas, New Year and peak tourist season in the summers.

The ropeway will have a span of 40.73 kms and travel time of 120 minutes. The technology that will be used for the ropeway will be tri-cable and mono-cable detachable Gondola system. With land being identified for the setting up of the project, work is likely to begin the moment all the bid and allotment formalities are complete.

The state government is keen to promote setting up of ropeways and tunnels to facilitate travel in the hill state. With Himachal having very limited air and rail connectivity, aerial ropeways are being looked as an alternative travel mode which requires much less land acquisition and reduces the travel time considerably.

It has come to light that Olympian Neeraj Chopra tied the knot at a luxury resort near Kandaghat in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district.

A link road connects the resort to the Kumarhatti-Nahan road.

The wedding, which was kept under wraps, took place on January 15-16, and the couple checked out on January 17.

According to information, the wedding was attended by 70 guests.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today visited the Pong Dam lake in Kangra district for bird watching and toured the ancient temples at the famous tourist site, Bathu Ki Lari.

The said temples remain submerged in Pong Dam lake during monsoons as the water level rises and emerge back when the water level recedes.

The CM said this area has immense potential for tourism and the state government was making significant efforts to promote tourism there.

Sukhu said that migratory birds from Siberia and Mongolia flock to Pong Dam, attracting bird watchers from across the country.

He directed the Forest Department to ensure the safety of these birds. For the convenience of tourists, two boats have already been deployed and two more speed boats would soon be added to facilitate visitors. Basic facilities for tourists would be developed in the area, he added.

The CM said that the government’s initiatives have led to an increase in tourist footfall in the region, with nearly 30,000 tourists visiting the area last year.

“Efforts are underway to introduce water sports activities at the Regional Water Centre, near Pong Dam Barrage, further boosting tourism in the area,” he added.

He said that in Basa of Jawali Assembly constituency, a Wildlife Interpretation Centre has been established at a cost of Rs 3.20 crore to enhance tourist experience and provide educational resources.

This centre aims to create awareness about the importance of conservation and the remarkable migratory patterns of these birds. It offers provision for stay and dormitories, where students from colleges and schools can learn about the rich biodiversity of Pong.

This unique opportunity will enable young minds to connect with nature, learn about the importance of conservation and develop a deeper appreciation for the natural world. We invite bird enthusiasts, nature lovers and students to visit the area for experiencing the beauty and wonder of Pong’s avian birds, he said.

Sukhu said that the number of migratory birds visiting Pong Dam this year had risen significantly. As of December 2024, 92,885 migratory birds were recorded and the count was expected to cross one lakh by the end of the season.

In comparison, 85,000 birds visited the dam during the entire season from October to January in the previous year. On average, 100 species of migratory birds visit Pong Dam annually. This season, 85 species have already been observed, he said.

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Chander Kumar and Ayush Minister Yadvinder Goma were also present on the occasion.

Large-scale illegal construction of houses, shops and hotels has been going on along the bank of Bithhi khud between Sungal and Aweri stretch on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway.

Even though this activity has been going on unabated in violations of norms, the authorities concerned have failed to act against the violators.

A number of buildings have come up on the bank of the rivulet by covering the khud with concrete slabs leaving no space for normal flow of water.

At many points the width of the river has been reduced to just three meters as against 15 to 20 meters as shown in the revenue records.

The construction has been going on even though the norms laid down by the Town and Country Planning Department and Himachal Pradesh Roadside Land Control Act prohibit such activity.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is custodian of the Pathankot-Mandi Highway, has failed to act and serve any notice on the violators during the past five years.

Most of the buildings have come up in gross violation of HP Roadside Land Control Act, applicable in Himachal Pradesh which also prohibits construction within five meters of the highway.

Besides, there is a provision in the law against construction in flood-prone areas but most of the areas of Pathankot-Mandi highway passing through Kangra district are dotted with hotels, guesthouses, petrol pumps and residential houses.

The Engineer-in-Chief, who retired from the HP State Public Works Department, says that the NHAI should go for demarcation of roads in this stretch of the highway immediately and stop the illegal construction which is a matter of concern. He says the width of the highway in this part is 25 meter to 35 meters.

The entire Dhauladhar ranges of Kangra district fall in the seismic zone-V and are prone to flash floods, natural hazards and cloudbursts. It seems people as well as the administration have not learnt any lessons from the flash floods which rocked the state in 2023, killing nearly 200 persons. Despite specific orders of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department imposing a complete ban on constructions on river beds, the activity continues on the bank of Bithhi khud.

A Central Bureau of Investigation court here on Saturday convicted Himachal Pradesh Inspector General of Police Zahur Haider Zaidi and seven others for the custodial death of an accused in gangrape and murder of a minor school girl in Himachal Pradesh’s Kotkhai in 2017.

The other accused who have been convicted include the then DSP Manoj Joshi, SI Rajinder Singh, ASI Deep Chand Sharma, HHC Mohan Lal, HHC Surat Singh, HC Rafee Mohammad and constable Ranit Sateta.

The court has acquitted former SP DW Negi.

The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on January 27.

A 16-year-old girl had gone missing in Kotkhai on July 4, 2017 and her body was found from the forests two days later on July 6. The post-mortem report had confirmed rape and murder and a case was registered.

Amid a huge public outcry in the state, a Special Investigating Team (SIT) headed by Zaidi was constituted by the then government.

The SIT arrested six persons, and after the custodial death of one of the accused Suraj, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had handed over the investigations of both the cases to the CBI.

Suraj died on the night of July 18, 2017 at Kotkhai police station in Shimla.

After registering the case on July 22, 2027, the CBI had arrested Zaidi, and other policemen in connection with the custodial death.

The Supreme Court in 2019 transferred the case related to alleged custodial death of an accused from Shimla to Chandigarh.

The apex court transferred the case on a plea filed by the CBI for expeditious disposal of the case.

After investigation, the CBI filed the chargesheet against the accused. Finding prima facie case, charges were framed against the accused to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

CBI’s public prosecutor Amit Jindal claimed that all the accused arrested Suraj Singh and seven others and caused hurt and grievous injuries to them to extort confession and fabricating false evidence.

Rabindra Pandit and Siddhant Pandit, counsels for former SP Negi, argued that he had no role in the crime.

After hearing the arguments, the court convicted eight accused in the case. The prosecution has examined over 52 witnesses in the case.

Accused submitted false reports, claims CBI

CBI claims that the accused destroyed the evidence relating to the death of Suraj Singh. They submitted false and fabricated reports to the DGP that Suraj Singh was killed by Rajinder alias Raju in police lockup.

The medical reports also indicated over 20 injuries on the body of the deceased. Another report of the board of AIIMS doctors confirmed the torture inflicted upon the deceased.

CBI claimed that Zaidi, submitted a report to Himachal Pradesh DGP regarding the incident of death of accused in police custody. He deliberately concealed the facts disclosed to him by Ct Dinesh and submitted a false report to DGP.

Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will start his 10-day winter sojourn in Dharamsala from tomorrow.

During the sojourn, the Chief Minister would tour various areas of Kangra district and inaugurate and lay foundation stone of various developmental projects in the district.

As per the tour program, tomorrow the Chief Minister would hold a meeting with the officials regarding the ongoing development projects.

He would also listen to the grievances of the public in Dharamsala mini secretariat.

On January 17 the Chief Minister would inaugurate various projects in Dharamsala including meeting hall of Zila Parishad, women police station in police lines and hostel building of mountaineering institute in McLeodganj.

He would lay the foundation stone of food street market being developed under the Smart City project on international cricket stadium road.

On January 18, the CM would visit the Haripur area in Dehra assembly constituency where he would inaugurate the wildlife information centre and lay the foundation stone of high level bridge on Gajj river in the area. The Chief Minister will also visit Jawali Assembly constituency.

On January 19, he would inaugurate district forensic unit in Nurpur Assembly constituency and lay foundation stones of various road projects in the area. The next day, he would visit Manali and inaugurate various development projects.

The CM will return to Dharamsala on January 21. He would inaugurate and lay foundation stone of various development projects in Kangra Assembly constituency.

The programme of the CM for January 22 and 23 was yet to be declared while on 24th he will tour Dharamsala segment.

On January 25 he would preside over the state level Himachal Day function to be held at Baijnath. He would inaugurate the paragliding school and parking of tourism department at Bir.

The practice of holding winter sojourn in lower areas of Himachal was started by former Congress CM Virbhadra Singh in 1990s.

Virbhadra Singh started the winter move of CM as he faced charges of discrimination with lower areas of Himachal.

The practice of holding winter move was continued by BJP CM, Prem Kumar Dhumal who besides Kangra extended his stay in other lower areas of Himachal as Una and Hamirpur district also during the winter months.

BJP CM Jai Ram Thakur, however, discontinued the formal winter sojourn move on the plea that he had extensively travelling in all Assembly constituencies.

A CBI court in Chandigarh has dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Vishal Deep, an ED officer, in an alleged bribery case.

CBI had registered an FIR against Deep, a former Assistant Director-II (Intelligence) in Shimla, on December 22, 2024, under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The officer was posted from November 2023 till December 23, 2024, in Shimla.

The FIR was filed based on complaints from directors of two educational institutions, alleging that Deep and other ED officials demanded bribes to avoid arrest in cases involving their institutions. CBI alleged that Deep, with the help of his relatives, extorted money by threatening arrest in the investigation he oversaw.

CBI court dismisses anticipatory bail plea of ED officer in ‘bribery’ case
In his bail plea, the officer claimed he was investigating an alleged scholarship scam during his posting in Shimla

A CBI court in Chandigarh has dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Vishal Deep, an ED officer, in an alleged bribery case. CBI had registered an FIR against Deep, a former Assistant Director-II (Intelligence) in Shimla, on December 22, 2024, under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The officer was posted from November 2023 till December 23, 2024, in Shimla.

The FIR was filed based on complaints from directors of two educational institutions, alleging that Deep and other ED officials demanded bribes to avoid arrest in cases involving their institutions. CBI alleged that Deep, with the help of his relatives, extorted money by threatening arrest in the investigation he oversaw.

In his bail plea, Deep claimed he was investigating an alleged scholarship scam during his posting in Shimla. He alleged that a CBI DSP and one of the complainants tried to bribe him to dilute charges. Deep claimed he was falsely implicated by CBI to shield senior officers and complainants involved in the scam.

The public prosecutor opposed the bail application, and after hearing arguments, the court dismissed Deep’s plea.

The Government of India has designated areas around Shikari Devi Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Mandi district, as eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) to reduce the impact of urbanisation and developmental activities on the surrounding protected areas.

The sanctuary, which spans 29.94 sq km, came into existence in 1962 as an effort to conserve wildlife in the region.

The ESZ includes 43 villages of the Nachan Forest Division and the Karsog Forest Division. The Nachan division includes 34 villages, while Karsog division includes nine villages.

The ESZ was declared under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to restrict human activities, except agriculture, in the designated areas.

According to Surender Kashyap, Divisional Forest Officer of Nachan and member secretary of the ESZ, the primary goal is to reduce deforestation and human-wildlife conflict.

The zone will be managed using a core and buffer model, aiming to protect wildlife while benefiting local communities.

The designated sensitive zone is defined from 50 m to 2 km around the sanctuary. If the zone had not been established, areas up to 10 km away would automatically have been included, affecting hundreds of villages.

Therefore, the authorities have pre-emptively included only those areas within a 2-km radius. All departments concerned have been asked to submit their plans by January 20.

“Future developmental activities in this zone will be strictly carried out as per the zonal master plan. Any project outside the master plan will not be permitted,” he said.

“Under the ESZ regulations, commercial mining, establishing pollution-causing industries, undertaking major hydropower projects, setting up hotels and resorts, and deforestation will be prohibited.

However, activities that are sustainable like organic farming and rainwater harvesting will be allowed,” he said.

“Furthermore, a special Zonal Master Plan is being developed to guide the future growth of the ESZ. A committee, chaired by the Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) of Mandi, has been set up, with members from various forest and government departments, including DFO (Nachan), DFO (Karsog), District Panchayat Officer (Mandi), and District Planning Officer, District Tourism Officer, being a part of it.

The committee has directed all members to submit the detailed action plans for their respective areas by January 20. Without these plans, no further development will be allowed within the zone,” he said.

“The Central Government has directed states to prepare specific master plans for ESZs by February to avoid any disruption to wildlife habitats, and the failure to do so will result in the automatic designation of a 10-km radius as an ESZ,” the DFO said.