Additional Chief Secretary S Raju and other senior bureaucrats addressed the mediapersons here on Tuesday to clear confusion regarding some decisions taken by the Cabinet in its meeting on Monday night.
Raju informed that the Cabinet had decided that a specially abled person will receive pension from birth till 18 years of age while in addition to the Rs800 monthly pension provided to mentally affected persons, their life partners will also receive monthly pension of Rs400. Since the government of India has stopped outsourcing posts of lab technicians, the State will make appointments to these posts, he added.
Principal secretary, Agriculture, S Ramaswamy informed that in order to encourage cultivation of traditional crops, the State will provide Rs200 per quintal production bonus to farmers for Mandua (finger millet) amaranth and Fafar. The bonus will be provided through farmer interest groups for Mandua cultivators and on individual basis to Fafar growers.Minimum support price will also be declared for amaranth which will be sold through the mandi.
The cabinet also approved 75 per cent subsidy for farmers on certified seeds. Additionally, the working hours of agriculture assistants employed in 670 Nyay Panchayats of the State have been increased from four hours to eight hours daily and their allowance has been raised from Rs2,500 to Rs6,000.
Secretary in charge, Home, Vinod Sharma informed that a committee has been formed under the principal secretary, Personnel, to draft the outline of the act to be tabled in the Assembly to facilitate 10 per cent horizontal Government job reservation to identified statehood activists. Earlier, only those activists who were jailed or injured during the Statehood movement were eligible but now all identified activists will be eligible for this.
Horticulture director BS Negi said that the cabinet had approved increase of subsidy on rain water harvesting structure from 50 per cento 75 per cent while the 80 per cent subsidy for polyhouse will now be provided for 1,000 square metres in stead of 200 square metres. Subsidy on pesticides has been increased from 50 to 60 per cent while minimum support price of mountain fruits- apple, Malta will be Rs7,000 per metric tonne and Rs4,000 per metric tone for large mountain lemons. Seventy five per cent subsidy will also be provided for seeds of unseasonal vegetables cultivated in the mountains.