HP Govt tables bill to bring recruitment of MC under state level services 

On the fourth day of the H.P Vidhan Sabha Monsoon session, the Himachal Pradesh Government introduced a proposal in the state assembly to amend the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Services Act of 1994. The objective of this amendment is to incorporate the positions within the Municipal Corporations of Shimla, Dharamshala, Solan, and Palampur into the state-level services.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who also oversees the finance portfolio, presented the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Services Amendment Bill of 2023 to replace the HP MS (Amendment) Ordinance of 2023, which was issued by the Governor on August 17, 2023.

CM Sukhu explained that since there was only one Municipal Corporation in the State, the posts within Municipal Corporations were not previously included in the State-level services. Instead, only positions within Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats were designated as State Cadre. However, with the recent establishment of four new Municipal Corporations in Dharamshala, Solan, Mandi, and Palampur, there is now a need to include positions within these Municipal Corporations in the State-level services as well.

The bill is expected to be discussed and potentially passed by the house during the upcoming three days of the Monsoon session.