Ranchi, Feb. 11: The Cabinet today renamed the public health engineering department as the department of drinking water and sanitation and decided to appoint a regional development commissioner at Dumka. It also passed a resolution to amend the the Jharkhand State University Act to facilitate inter-state transfer of spouses of officials working in Jharkhand.

The Cabinet also renamed Ranchi Zilla School after Amar Shaheed Thakur Vishwanath Sahdeo almost two years after the Bihar government had recommended the same. It also sanctioned Rs 341 crore for Amanat barrage under Auranga Jalashay project and released Rs 6 crore for the project under the current fiscal.

Briefing newsmen, Cabinet secretary Aditya Swarup said the government has decided to rename the Phed because it sounded like a medical or an engineering department. The Cabinet also approved the educaton department’s proposal to amend the Jharkhand State Universities Act so that a paragraph could be added. The amendment would be ratified by the Assembly later, Swarup said.

The

incorporated paragraph would allow inter-state transfer of spouses of

officials working in Jharkhand. The decision has been taken as spouses

of many officials continue to work in Bihar while their partners have

been alloted the Jharkhand cadre. The cadre division is still incomplete

and many more such cases are likely to come up later.

The government has decided to appoint a regional development

commissioner of the rank of comissioner cum secretary in Dumka. besides,

the cabinet approved creation of 24 other posts for the regional

development commissionerate, Swarup said.

Other major decisions approved by the cabinet today include nomination

of Mecon as consultant for setting up planeatarium in Ranchi, approval

of Jharkhand judicial service recruitment rules with a few amendments,

posting an ADM rank official in the Panchayat directorate and

regularisation of services of eight ad-hoc judicial officers. Besides,

the cabinet approved creation of 229 posts for adding two more companies

to the Jharkhand Arms Police, 224 posts for setting up fire stations in

nine unrepresented district headquarters and allotment of 4 acres of

land for Chota nagpur Law College.

The cabinet also approved the proposal of transport department to accept

pending road tax in instalments and to give relief to the taxpayers. A

total of Rs 39.27 crore road tax and Rs 75.58 crore fine is pending to

be collected from the tax payers, Swarup said. “Those who clear the

outstanding tax in one instalment will get a relief of 50 per cent in

fines, in two instalments the relief wil be 40 per cent and only 30 per

cent in three instalments. The scheme will be effective only for three

months from the date of notification and no relief will be given on the

pending tax amount, Swarup said.

The government has also decided the rate of pollution check of vehicles

at different authorised centres. Two wheelers will have to pay rs 15,

three wheelers Rs 20 and foru wheelers Rs 25. The medium motor vehicles

will have to pay Rs 40 and heavy will have to pay Rs 45, Swarup said.

The cabinet also gave post facto approval to many other decisions

already taken by the government. This included allotment of land for

laying railway tracts and the one time sales tax relief during the

second foundation day of the state which cost Rs 10 crore to the state

exchequer.

EoM

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