Shimla: Amid protests and a walkout by BJP legislators, the Himachal Pradesh assembly on Monday passed the Himachal Pradesh Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, enabling the levy of an “orphan and widow cess” of up to Rs 5 per litre on petrol and high-speed diesel at the point of first sale.The bill, introduced by chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu last week, provides that the cess will be collected from dealers after the governor’s assent and used for the welfare of orphans and widows from economically weaker sections.BJP opposed the move, with leader of the opposition Jairam Thakur questioning the timing and alleging it would burden the public by increasing transport costs. BJP members later staged a walkout.Responding, Sukhu said BJP’s stand was “anti-Himachal” and pointed out that the Centre levied cess of Rs 37 per litre on petrol and Rs 28 per litre on diesel. He added the state would try to keep fuel prices lower than in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana despite the levy.Other developments in assemblyOutsourcing catering in rest houses | CM Sukhu said the govt is considering outsourcing catering services in govt rest houses to improve facilities. PWD will design menus and tie up with nearby catering units.Him Bus card charges to continue | Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri said there are no plans to withdraw charges for issuing Him Bus cards, which offer 50% fare concession to women on HRTC buses. The scheme has benefited around 37.77 lakh women monthly and cost HRTC Rs 82.27 crore so far. About Rs 4.72 crore has been collected through card charges. As many as 508 conductor posts remain vacant.Transfer policy under review | The CM said the govt may consider a law on employee transfers in future. Though there is no provision for mutual transfers, 1,171 such cases were processed in the past six months under existing rules.Spa policy on the anvil | Industry minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said a policy to regulate spas will be framed in coordination with health and Ayush departments. There are 61 registered spas in the state, including 29 in Kangra, 17 in Kullu and 12 in Shimla.LoP slams budget | LoP Jairam Thakur termed the 2026–27 budget “misleading”, alleging cuts in departmental allocations and declining capital expenditure, while claiming rising revenue deficit and falling job opportunities.
