In a bid to overcome fund crunch amid Covid-19 pandemic, the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Monday decided to increase the bus fare by 25 per cent.
The cabinet, led by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, decided to increase the fare in the per km tariff plan for all travel beyond 3 km for hilly and plain areas. The fare would be Rs 7 for the first 3 km, instead of Rs 5. An official statement said the cabinet withdrew the facility of free travel to MPs and legislators in the state-run Himachal Road Transport Corp buses both within and outside the state. But the facility will continue for former legislators and MPs.
It was also decided to convert 771 Assistant Librarian's vacant posts in the Education Department into Junior Office Assistant (Library) for smooth functioning of libraries.
The Industries Department made a presentation on ‘Ease of doing Business’ before the Cabinet. It stressed on development of an online system for 46 services to facilitate the entrepreneurs and improve the ease of doing business in the State. The Cabinet directed the department to move on all points of reforms in a time bound manner.
The Information and Technology Department presented the hardware for e-Cabinet and the Cabinet authorized the Department to go ahead for purchase of 16 workstations. It was decided that the third party security audit should be done for maintaining confidentiality.