Shimla, February 12 The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Thursday approved the toll tax policy and the excise policy for 2026-27, and gave its approval to form a Cabinet Sub-Committee to draft the Himachal Pradesh State Lottery (Regulation) Rules, 2026.
The committee will be headed by Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, with Town and Country Planning Minister Rajesh Dharmani as a member, while the Director of Treasury and Accounts will serve as the Member Secretary of the committee.
The Cabinet, in a meeting held here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, approved a project for modernizing medical colleges, super-specialty hospitals, and Ideal Health Institutions, with an outlay of Rs 1617.40 crore.
The project aims to strengthen healthcare services within the State and eliminate the need for patients to seek treatment outside the State by ensuring affordable and quality healthcare facilities within the State, a statement issued here said.
It also gave approval for filling 220 posts in the health and family welfare department, and for establishing Drug Testing Laboratories in Nurpur, Baddi, and Una, along with the creation and filling of 36 posts in various categories.
Furthermore, the Cabinet approved the creation and filling of 190 Junior Engineer (Civil) and 151 Junior Office Assistant (Information Technology) posts in the Directorate of Recruitment, as separate cadres.
The Cabinet also approved the Governor's address to be delivered during the upcoming Budget Session of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha and decided to extend the benefit of 26 weeks of maternity leave to female Home Guard volunteers.
It also approved amendments to the 'Indira Gandhi Sukh Shiksha Yojana' to provide financial assistance to the daughters of widows pursuing professional courses in government-run institutions, both within and outside the State.
They will also be eligible for a rent allowance of Rs. 3,000 per month in cases where hostel facilities are not available.
Approval was also given to launch the 'Indira Gandhi Matri Shishu Sankalp Yojana', aimed at improving the nutritional status of children below six years of age, as well as expectant women and lactating mothers, through enhanced supplementary nutrition.
The Cabinet further decided to increase the marriage grant for persons with disabilities with more than 70 per cent disability from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, and provide Rs 25,000 as a marriage grant for persons with disabilities between 40 and 70 per cent.
The Cabinet gave its approval to create 600 posts – 150 posts each of Sanskrit Teachers, Physical Education Teachers, Music Teachers, and Drawing Teachers for the proposed CBSE schools. These posts will be filled through the Rajya Chayan Aayog. Additionally, it was decided to merge 31 boys' and girls' schools across the State into co-educational schools.
The decision to establish the Distil Global Skills and Digital University in the Chamba district and to implement the Digital Classroom Project in 777 additional schools across the State was also taken.