Shimla, April 17
The Himachal Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday approved more than 1,500 government jobs and increased support prices for key crops, in a set of decisions that come just ahead of local panchayat elections. The state government said the move to raise the Minimum Support Price (MSP) would directly benefit farmers growing wheat, maize, barley, turmeric and ginger. The Cabinet has decided that wheat prices will rise from Rs 60 to Rs 80 per kg, maize from Rs 40 to Rs 50, and barley in Chamba’s Pangi Valley from Rs 60 to Rs 80 per kg. The MSP for raw turmeric has been increased significantly to ₹150 per kg, while naturally farmed ginger will be procured at ₹30 per kg.
The Cabinet has decided that around 1,000 (police constable) posts and 500 assistant forest guard positions will be created and filled. Half of the forest guard roles will be reserved for Van Mitras, a community-based workforce linked to forest protection.
To address staff shortages, the government will also again hire retired revenue officials including Naib Tehsildars, Kanungos and Patwaris on fixed pay for forest-related work. Retired professors will be brought into new medical colleges to ease a shortage of teaching staff across both clinical and non-clinical fields.
The Cabinet also cleared administrative changes in the Jal Shakti Department in Sirmaur district, aimed at improving public service delivery by reorganising divisions along constituency lines.
In a bid to streamline governance, rules for social security pensions have been amended to ensure timely payments. The process for obtaining fire safety clearance (NOC) has also been simplified, with officials saying the changes are intended to make it easier for businesses and homeowners while maintaining safety standards.
Among other decisions, the government will engage Sanjay Kumar, a Param Vir Chakra awardee, to motivate young people to join the armed forces from May 2026. It has also approved the allocation of 71 small hydropower projects to private developers under the state’s existing policy.
