HPSEB Chairman met Chief Minister

SHIMLA, 04.07.25-Chairman Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education Dr. Rajesh Sharma called on Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu here today after assuming the office of the Chairman. He thanked the Chief Minister for giving his this important assignment and assured him to come upto the expectations of the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister extended his best wishes for new assignment.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, Deputy Speaker H.P. Vidhan Sabha Vinay Kumar, MLA Sanjay Awasthy, Principal Advisor (Media) to Chief Minister Naresh Chauhan and former MLA Sohan Lal Thakur were also present on the occasion.

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CM informs Union Home Minister about damages

· Announces Rs. 5000 monthly rent aid for affected families

SHIMLA, 04.07.25-Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today briefed the media, stating that heavy rainfall has caused extensive damage to homes and land in the Seraj and Dharampur areas of Mandi district. He said that the state government has decided to provide Rs. five thousand per month as house rent to affected families whose homes have been damaged and were living in rented accommodation. He said that the concerned SDMs have been directed to provide food supplies to the affected people.

The Chief Minister said these key decisions were taken after discussions with Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar and other MLAs.

He further said that the disaster caused by the torrential rains has claimed 69 lives so far, with 110 people injured and 37 still missing. He said very soon he would visit the affected areas again.

Thakur Sukhvinder Singh said that he had a telephonic conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the extensive damage in the state. The Union Home Minister has assured full support and a central team would be visiting the state to assess the situation. He said that 14 cloudburst incidents have occurred in Mandi district alone this monsoon season, which was a matter of concern. He said there was a need to study why such frequent cloudbursts were happening and that this issue was also raised with the Union Home Minister.

He said that the state has suffered a loss of Rs.700 crore so far due to the rain-related calamities and cloudbursts. Roads, electricity infrastructure and drinking water supply schemes have been severely impacted. He said that all cabinet ministers were conducting review meetings in their respective departments to assess the extent of the damage.

The Chief Minister said that nearly 300 roads were currently blocked in the state, around 790 drinking water schemes have been damaged and 332 power transformers have been affected. In Mandi district alone, 402 people have been rescued as part of relief operations. He said that 92 students and teachers who were stranded at the Forestry and Horticulture in Thunag College have been safely evacuated. NDRF and SDRF teams have reached several villages in Thunag and were actively engaged in relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Responding to a question on NHAI projects in the state, the Chief Minister said that large companies were often awarded contracts based solely on their machinery, but they lack understanding of the fragile hill terrain of the state. As a result they conduct hill-cutting as per their convenience, which causes damage. He advised NHAI to consider awarding such contracts to local contractors familiar with the region.

Meanwhile, a state government spokesperson said that rescue and relief operations were underway on a war footing in Mandi district, which has been the worst affected. The state government was extending full support to the victims, with senior officers, administrative officials, and government machinery deployed to assist those in need.

The spokesperson added that 241 water supply schemes were damaged in the Thunag area, of which 66 have already been temporarily restored. As of now, 164 roads remain blocked in Mandi district. The PWD has deployed 31 JCBs and three poclain machines to restore roads in the affected areas of Seraj. Relief material was being delivered to villages such as Surah and others.

In addition, rescue and relief efforts are in full swing in the villages of Rukchui, Bharad and Piyala Deji in Thunag sub-division, which were hit by a severe natural disaster. Despite challenging conditions, NDRF and district administration teams continue to work tirelessly on the ground. So far, 65 victims have been rescued from Thunag and provided with first aid and medical care. Relief supplies and essential services are also being delivered on a war footing in Dharampur.

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Explore feasibility of green hydrogen buses, CM directs HRTC

297 e-buses will be operational by March, 2026

SHIMLA, 04.07.25-Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has directed Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) to enhance transport services to the people of the State, keeping in view the tough geographical topography. While chairing a high level meeting of the Corporation, the Chief Minister said that the HRTC serves as a lifeline for the people and assured full support from the State Government to ensure smooth and efficient services for the people.

Sh. Sukhu said that 297 type-I e-buses will be made operational by March, 2026 while the procurement for another 30 type-II e-buses was underway. He also directed the HRTC officers to explore the feasibility of introducing green hydrogen propelled buses in the near future. He said that the State Government has set a target to become green energy State by March, 2026.

The Chief Minister also instructed to develop a single bus pass system for applying for the concessional passes and develop a real time bus monitoring system and to adopt digital technology in its functioning for better efficiency and effective management. He directed to implement e-office system at HRTC headquarters. He said that a HRTC workshop would be established at Theog in Shimla district and the Government was supporting the organization in every way to make it a viable institution.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri also gave valuable suggestions during the meeting and appreciated the role of the employees of the organization.

Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Advisor Infra Anil Kapil, Additional Chief Secretary R.D. Nazeem, Principal Secretary Devesh Kumar, Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, OSD to Chief Minister Gopal Sharma, Managing Director HRTC Dr. Nipun Jindal and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

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Government streamlines registration process for HIMCARE cards

• Cards to be made on quarterly basis
• Over 5.80 lakh benefitted under HIMCARE

SHIMLA, 04.07.25-The state government has extended benefits of approximately Rs. 810 crore to over 5.80 lakh beneficiaries of Himachal Pradesh under the HIMCARE scheme since it came to power in December, 2022. With the focus on further strengthening the HIMCARE scheme and streamlining the process of making HIMCARE cards, the state government has decided that these cards would be made on a quarterly basis every year. These cards would have a validity of one year and the portal for applying for the cards would be opened after every three months. The portal would remain open for a month in March, June, September and December every year for each quarter safely.

A spokesperson of the health department stated that the new decision would come into effect after July, 2025 and the portal is open for registration during this month. After July, the portal would be opened on 1^st day of March, June, September and December and would remain open for the entire month. However, people could renew the HIMCARE cards throughout the year. If the beneficiary fails to renew cards on time as per the policy and their card expires, the expired cards would be renewed on a quarterly basis in March, June, September and December, as per the new policy.

The spokesperson said that the decision has been taken to ensure selection of eligible beneficiaries and ensure that people renew their cards on time to avail seamless, free of cost as well as quality health care facilities.

The HIMCARE card is made free of cost for various sections, including BPL, MGNREGA, street vendors, orphans and prison inmates. A nominal fee of Rs. 365 is charged for these cards from single women, contract and outsource employees, persons with 40 percent and above disability, mid day meal workers, part time workers and daily wagers. A fee of Rs. 1,000 is charged from the remaining eligible sections.

There are 5.26 lakh HIMCARE card holder families in the state and the card covers upto maximum of five members of a family under one card. A total of 3,227 diseases are covered for free treatment under the HIMCARE scheme. The State government's 136 health institutions in the state, along with PG1 Chandigarh. Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, and Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (Tata Memorial Center), New Chandigarh are providing free of cost treatment to the HIMCARE beneficiaries. Apart from this, dialysis services are being given free of cost under the HIMCARE scheme in all the private institutions functioning in the state.