Amid Covid surge, Himachal Cabinet decides to defer Assembly session

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Bhardwaj told the press after the Cabinet meeting that as per constitutional provisions, the session can be held anytime till March 18 next year.

“The last session ended on September 18, and the gap between two sessions should not exceed six months. So, we are not under any constitutional obligation to hold the session right now,” he said.

Bhardwaj said that prior permission from the sub-divisional authorities will now be required before holding any social functions such as weddings and birthday parties anywhere in the state. The total number of persons in such a gathering cannot exceed 50 and violation of this rule will henceforth invite a penalty of Rs 5,000. If the violation persists, further legal action under the Disaster Management Act can also be taken, and executive magistrates would be mandated to enforce the rules and SOPs, he added.

The Cabinet also decided that politicians including ministers, MPs and MLAs will not be allowed to hold any public function and only virtual functions can be held by adhering to the government-issued SOPs.

The Cabinet has further decided to enforce containment zone rules strictly and conduct more random sampling. Bhardwaj said that two more dedicated Covid centres in Khaneri and Rohru will ensure that patients from Kinnaur, Rampur and Rohru do not have to travel all the way to Shimla in winter when roads in the area often get blocked by snow. MLAs have been asked to regularly visit Covid patients in their constituencies to raise their morale, he said.

The Cabinet decided that Mahila Mandals would now be included in the ongoing Him Suraksha campaign in the state in which the entire population is being screened for symptoms of Covid, leprosy and TB in a door-to-door survey. Young volunteers would also be roped into Covid awareness campaigns.

Cabinet nod was also given to create a provision for open-to-sky parking in the HP Town and Country Planning Rules to meet the increasing parking requirement in towns of the state. Under the new provision, all buildings located on valley side or hill sides of the roads and having a minimum clear setback of two metres within the plot, after controlled width/retaining wall and having clear access from the road, will be permitted to have open-to-sky parking (uncovered and parallel to the building) on 50 percent frontage of the setback.

In case of buildings on Valley side, owners would be allowed to construct a temporary steel frame structure/ramp on 50 per cent frontage of such setback for open-to-sky parking. The temporary parking platform so proposed should be see through/perforated/meshed (not solid sheet) in order to have sufficient gaps/spaces for light and ventilation and should not obstruct any disaster management efforts. It should not obstruct smooth flow of traffic on the abutting road and should be duly certified by a registered structural engineer, the provision states.