Himachal Cabinet Cuts Mineral Transport Fine, Expands Welfare Measures

In a series of significant decisions aimed at easing the burden on citizens, strengthening welfare measures and boosting employment opportunities, the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Saturday approved a wide range of policy initiatives, including a substantial reduction in penalties related to mineral transportation, enhanced health insurance coverage and large scale recruitment across government departments.

At a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu , the Cabinet decided to slash the compounding fee imposed on tractors transporting minerals for domestic purposes from Rs 4,500 to Rs 500 . The move is expected to provide considerable relief to tractor operators, who had long complained about excessive penalties and procedural difficulties. The government said the decision would help prevent unnecessary harassment while ensuring smoother transportation activities.

The Cabinet also approved a policy for the regularisation of certain encroachments on government land, addressing the concerns of landless families and marginal farmers using such land for residential, agricultural and horticultural purposes. The policy, framed in accordance with directions issued by the Supreme Court , has been forwarded to the Centre for approval.

In a major healthcare initiative, the state government decided to shift the HIMCARE Scheme to an insurance based model, increasing health coverage from the existing Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for eligible beneficiaries.

Farmers received another boost with the approval of the Agriculture Loan Interest Subvention Scheme , under which the government will bear 50 per cent of interest liability on agricultural loans up to Rs 3 lakh for eligible farmers whose land faces auction proceedings. More than 6,300 farmers are expected to benefit.

The Cabinet also approved the Grazing Policy 2026 , a new State Innovation Policy for Technical Education Institutions , and amendments to rules governing the cultivation and transportation of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes .

A major employment drive was also cleared, with approvals granted for hundreds of posts across departments, including 300 Medical Officers, 200 nurses, 250 Multi Task Workers, 400 Work Inspectors , and 75 Assistant Professors in medical colleges.

Further, the government approved full salary benefits for employees on study leave , cleared the next phase of the Rajiv Gandhi Swarojgar Start-Up Yojana , and constituted a Cabinet sub committee to streamline the recruitment of Multi Task Workers across departments.

The decisions reflect the state government's broader focus on welfare, rural development, healthcare expansion, employment generation and administrative reforms , marking one of the most comprehensive Cabinet meetings of recent months.