Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday said the redundant posts lying vacant for the past 20 years in government departments are not being abolished but will be converted to other posts on need basis.

Clarifying about the notification regarding abolition of posts lying vacant for the last 20 years, he said the opposition has reacted to it without complete information. These posts will actually be converted into other useful posts, he added.

Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur had alleged that the state government was doing away with posts of junior assistant, sub-divisional officers and executive engineers in the name of cost-cutting.

Talking to reporters here, Sukhu said the posts of typists are no longer relevant and the government has already decided to create the posts of nurses and mining officers.

Reiterating the resolve of his government to provide jobs to unemployed youth, the chief minister said 19,000 posts will be filled by the time the government completes two years in office on December 11 and 3,000 more posts are in the pipeline.

Sukhu alleged that former chief minister Thakur, whose government provided only 20,000 jobs in five years, is indulging in false propaganda to misguide the people.

He said the BJP is making false allegations through "gossip and whispering campaigns" to create an impression that something wrong is being done, and asked the social media to verify the fact and procure complete information before making comments.

Referring to the demand of Green Bonus to the state, Sukhu said he impressed upon NITI Aayog to give it to Himachal Pradesh for preserving the forests. The state's forests are lungs for northern India, he stressed.

The chief minister said the state can earn huge revenue by felling trees but it is preserving the forests. Even the dried trees are not being felled, he emphasised.