Himachal rolls back entry tax hike amid protests in Punjab, Haryana | Chandigarh News

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh govt on Tuesday withdrew its decision to increase entry tax for five-seater and six-to-12-seater vehicles from outside the state following strong protests in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana.The fee for five-seater vehicles was to be raised from Rs 70 to Rs 170, while that for six-to 12-seater vehicles was to go up from Rs 110 to Rs 130, effective March 31 midnight. Under the revised decision, five-seater vehicles will continue to pay Rs 70 and six-to-12-seater vehicles Rs 110. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced the rollback during the ongoing budget session in the legislative assembly, The proposed hike had triggered widespread opposition, with concerns over its economic impact. Punjab had even raised the matter in its assembly, with lawmaker calling for a tit-for-tat tax on Himachal vehicles. During a protest on the vidhan sabha premises, BJP MLA Randhir Sharma warned of escalating tensions along the Punjab-Himachal border. He said people in Punjab have threatened to block Himachal vehicles if the hike was not withdrawn. In response, Sukhu assured that he would engage with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to resolve the matter amicably. The BJP also protested against the proposed “orphan and widow cess” on petrol and high-speed diesel. Robotic surgeries under scrutiny Responding to a query in the House, the CM said robotic surgeries introduced in state medical colleges are not presently covered under Ayushman Bharat or Himcare scheme. However, the govt is offering a 70% subsidy, bringing the cost for a general ward patient to around Rs 30,000 against an actual expense of nearly Rs 1 lakh per operation. Leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur argued that such procedures largely benefit those who can afford them and questioned the purchase of four to five multi-crore robotic machines, suggesting two would have sufficed. He also flagged the limited number of trained doctors and staff. The CM said benefits for the poor would be considered as the state’s finances improve. Pending milk payment Animal husbandry minister Chander Kumar informed the House that pending payments to milk producers for Feb and March will be cleared in April, responding to a query by Una MLA Satpal Singh Satti. He said the state has 761 registered dairy societies with 39,690 members. The minister admitted that the state machinery lacks capacity to process entire procured milk, leading to surplus being sold to Mother Dairy. The govt is setting up new processing and chilling plants to address this issue. Sukhu intervened and assured that in the coming year, the state govt will make efforts to ensure that milk procured from local farmers is marketed within the state instead of being sold to outside brands. Stamp Duty Bill passed The legislative assembly on Tuesday passed the Indian Stamp (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2026, extending the limitation period from three years to 10 years to initiate proceedings and recover deficient stamp duty in cases of property undervaluation. The bill also clarifies concessional stamp duty rates for women on transactions up to Rs 80 lakh. This benefit will now also apply to property exchanges between unrelated male and female parties, aligning such cases with concessions already available in transactions involving blood relations. Bill to protect Shimla’s pedestrian zones The CM on Tuesday introduced ‘The Shimla Road Users and Pedestrians (Public Safety and Convenience) Amendment Bill, 2026′ in the House, aiming to curb rising vehicular traffic on sealed and restricted roads in Shimla. The move seeks to preserve the historic vehicle-free character of the Mall Road area and ensure pedestrian safety. The bill proposes a significant hike in annual vehicle permit fees for these roads, along with penalties for violations, and is likely to be taken up for discussion on Wednesday. Policy to safeguard apple growers The assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution moved by Theog MLA Kuldeep Singh Rathore, urging the govt to frame a policy to protect Himachal’s apple and fruit growers amid free trade agreements (FTAs) with the European Union, the US, New Zealand and other countries. Rathore said reduced import duties by the central govt severely impacted the state’s Rs 5,000 crore apple economy, as well as growers in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. He highlighted that import duty on New Zealand apples has been cut from 50% to 25%. The resolution will now be forwarded to the Centre for consideration. Zero-hour ‘lacking seriousness’ BJP MLA Randhir Sharma, during the zero hour, pointed out that the state govt is not taking issues raised in the zero hour of the vidhan sabha proceedings seriously, and he has not received any reply to his 10 questions raised till now. Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania assured the House that he is monitoring such matters and will form a committee, besides summoning department heads if required. MSID:: 129926889 413 |