HP Cabinet approves setting up of ICD at Baddi

Shimla, Nov 25 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet today approved the Container Corporation of India's (CONCOR) proposal for setting up of an Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Baddi in Solan district of the state, official sources said.

The Cabinet, which met under the Chairmanship of State Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, approved the proposal that would facilitate export of finished goods from industrial areas of the state.

The sources said the Cabinet also decided to amend the HP Municipalities Rules 2001 to provide for three per cent reservation to self help groups of women entrepreneurs in the allotment of shops and stalls in the municipal areas of the state, official sources said.

The decision to amend the rules would facilitate the women entrepreneurs in starting self-employment ventures.

The sources said the Cabinet also decided to hand over distribution of water in 10 per cent rural water supply schemes to the panchayats on a pilot basis, with a view to decentralise powers to the panchayats of the state.

The funds to be spent on distributing water in the schemes would be borne by the twelfth Finance Commission Grants under the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), the sources said.

The meeting also decided to exempt ground tax on vacant land, where construction activities were banned, owned by the people within the limits of Shimla Municipal Corporation.

The sources said the Cabinet also approved the proposal of fixing rates of different species of standing trees after over 12 years.

The Cabinet also sanctioned creating and filling up of 546 posts of teaching and non-teaching categories for deployment in the 26 newly upgraded government senior secondary schools during the current financial year.

It also approved the setting up of the Sugarcane Based Unit (Agro Based Unit) in Una district of the state, the sources added.

UNI AS HS MSJ ND1818