HP Cabinet approves metered taxi scheme for tourist towns

Shimla, Nov 25 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet today approved the HP Meter Taxi Scheme, 2006, providing for introduction of metered taxi service in all the important tourist destinations of the state, official sources said.

The Cabinet, which met with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in the chair, decided to introduce taxi services within the 40 km radius of tourist towns of Kullu, Manali, Dalhousie, Dharamshala and Shimla.

The sources said the taxi services would now be available in the towns for a sum of Rs 60 over a two-km distance and would benefit taxi owners, locals and tourists visiting the state.

It also fixed a minimum fare of Rs 2 in all Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and private buses, providing relief to corporation and private bus operators, besides three-year moratorium on repayment and interest on Rs 67 crore loan to the HRTC.

It also provided one time relaxation to unemployed youth in educational qualifications in the recruitment for radiographers and pharmacists who had acquired degrees prior to 2001 and were ineligible after the amendment in the recruitment and promotion rules.

The sources said it also agreed to reserve hydel projects up to two MW exclusively for Himachali entrepreneurs to encourage entrepreneurship amongst the educated unemployed youth of the state, while they would also be given preference to execute hydel projects upto five MW.

Besides approving seven posts of physiotherapists for each district hospital, in addition to the existing five posts, it also approved creation of 73 posts and filling up of 77 posts of drivers in Health and Family Welfare Department of the state.

The Cabinet also delegated more functional powers to the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority Chief Executive Officer, the sources said.

It also sanctioned 37 posts for the Authority for effectively managing its functioning and to curtail the codal formalities at different levels of administration.

The Cabinet also approved a proposal to change the nomenclature of the legal assistants in the pay scale of Rs 6400-10640 to that of Law Officers.

UNI AS HS AD ND1906