HP cabinet approves MIS for apple crop

Shimla, Jul 6 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet today decided to continue with the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for apple crop to provide remunerative prices to the horticulturists and check their exploitation by middlemen, official sources today said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of state Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, here.

The sources said under the scheme fair, average and quality apples would be procured at the rate of Rs. 4.25 per kg and an additional 2.5 per cent extra fruits would be procured to offset the evaporation and transport losses.

The HPMC and HIMFED would be the procurement agencies and procurements would only be made from the orchardists possessing horticulture cards while no fruit shall be procured from the contractors between August one to October 31.

The Cabinet also approved the financial bid of the IL and FS Infrastructure Development Corporation for the beautification of Shimla Town under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JLNURM), the sources said.

The mission aims to develop basic infrastructure of selected 62 other cities of the country.

The meeting also decided to increase the honorarium of the office bearers of the Panchayati Raj Institutions, the sources said.

The decision has been taken as per the Budget Assurance made by the chief minister while presenting the Budget for the current financial year and would entail an annual expenditure of Rs. 2.5 crore on the state exchequer, the sources said.

The Cabinet also decided to incorporate a provision in the Himachal Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, for making registration of domestic cattle mandatory.

The panchayats have been authorised to impose penalty on those people who fail to register their domestic cattle with them, the sources said and added that this was necessary to overcome the problem of stray cattle in the state.

The Cabinet approved the introduction of the 'Mukhya Mantri Bal Udhar Yojna' in state as an integrated scheme for children in need of care, protection and rehabilitation in the cabinet.

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