Shimla : The Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Saturday approved more than 14 ,000 posts across govt departments, including 4,800 teaching and non-teaching posts for 100 additional CBSE-affiliated schools under a new scheme-based recruitment process. The govt aims to fill all the approved posts by March next year.




Briefing reporters after the nearly six-hour meeting, parliamentary affairs minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said nearly 200 agenda items were discussed and approved. He said the govt had provided around 32,000 govt jobs so far, while recruitment to another 18,000 posts was underway. The latest approvals would take the total number of jobs filled during the govt’s tenure to around 50,000 by the end of this year, he said.




The cabinet approved the engagement of 4,090 para-workers, including para pump operators, para fitters and multipurpose workers, in the water resources department. Other major approvals included 500 assistant staff nurse posts, 500 assistant forest guard posts, 320 assistant professor posts under the backlog quota and 172 multi-task worker posts in the public works department.




It also cleared 30 radiologist, 13 clinical psychologist and six perfusionist posts in medical education, besides 24 specialist and super-specialist medical officer posts at Dr RPGMC, Tanda. The approvals covered recruitment across several other departments, including animal husbandry, horticulture, technical education, treasury services and forensic services.




The cabinet also cleared a limited direct recruitment test for left-out school management committee (SMC) teachers, including PGTs and TGTs, and approved filling computer teacher posts through the same route from among those already working in govt schools on an outsourced basis.




Honorariums, welfare assistance raised




The monthly honorarium of Anganwadi workers was increased from Rs 10,500 to Rs 11,500 and that of helpers from Rs 5,800 to Rs 6,800. The annual income ceiling for appointing widows, destitute and single women as Anganwadi workers and helpers was raised from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.




Van Mitras will now receive Rs 12,000 a month, up from Rs 10,000, while special police officers deployed in border areas will get an additional Rs 500 a month.




The cabinet doubled assistance under the Milk Incentive Scheme from Rs 3 to Rs 6 per litre and directed govt departments to procure milk and milk products from Milkfed. It also approved a Rs 1 crore Trout Risk Fund Scheme to protect trout farmers against disaster-related losses.




Boxes




Rs 1 crore for four kabaddi players




Chauhan said all four Himachal Pradesh women kabaddi players — Ritu Negi, Pushpa Rana, Bhavna Thakur and Jyoti Thakur — who were part of the gold medal-winning Indian team at the recently concluded Asian Games in Japan would receive Rs 1 crore each. Negi, who belongs to Sirmaur but is married in Haryana and works with Indian Railways, would also receive the award, he said.




The cabinet approved creating district youth services and sports officer posts for international-level medal winners and amended provisions governing cash awards for medal-winning Indian teams. Awards may be distributed equally among eligible Himachal players or proportionately, subject to a minimum of 25% of the individual medal-winner award for each eligible sportsperson.




NDPS courts , disaster relief and infrastructure




Other decisions included dedicated NDPS courts at Kangra and Mandi, raising the monthly pension for persons with 100% disability from Rs 1,700 to Rs 3,000, granting international status to Sujanpur Holi Mela and setting up an inter-state bus terminal at Shitalpur in Baddi.




The cabinet also approved a city centre at the old bus stand in Hamirpur, a nursing college in Chamba with 60 BSc Nursing seats and a two-year extension of the HPSHIVA project until June 2030.




For disaster-hit families in Boh Valley, Kangra, it approved Rs 7.5 lakh for completely damaged houses, Rs 1 lakh for household belongings, rental support of Rs 5,000 and free ration for six months, besides compensation for livestock, fisheries, crops and agricultural land.




The cabinet constituted a sub-committee under deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri to frame guidelines for regulating the transfer of state govt employees to their home districts and within the same district. It also approved the Nutrition Policy 2026.