Higher parts of Himachal Pradesh witnessed unseasonal snowfall on Tuesday while several other parts of the State received heavy rain as the monsoon remained active in the region.

Lahaul and Spiti districts received snowfall during the month of September after 21 years, while Rohtang Pass (13,050 ft), the sprawling Dhauladhar ranges in Kangra, Sarchu, Kunzam, Baralacha and Chansel passes also got snowfall.

All vehicles, registered outside Himachal Pradesh, will have to pay “green tax” from September 15 for entering the state capital.

Their mission is to clean and they too are whistleblowers - literally.

The hill state has been leading the country by providing drinking water facility with over 90 per cent population getting potable water.

The state government, through an announcement, has said that sheep breeders in Himachal Pradesh will be provided highly subsidised solar lights to make life easier for them.

The chief minister, P K Dhumal, said each solar light after being fully charged will work for nine hours. For each such solar light, the state government will pay Rs 2,550 while a sheep breeder will have to pay only Rs 150. Sheep farming is still practised by many farmers in Himachal, particularly in the mid and high mountains of the state.

People in Shimla now have the option of disposing of their dead in a more environment -friendly and cheaper way by using LPG, instead of piles of wood, at a crematorium here.

The Rotary club has imported the machinery from the United States. The plant has been set up here and trial runs have been carried out successfully .The entire cost of the project was Rs 60 lakh. It is the first such plant to be set up in Himachal and perhaps the first to the north of Delhi.

Himachal Pradesh government was planning to diversify tourism to new areas and as part of the efforts the activities of the departments of Tourism and Rural Development would be merged to develop infrastructure in rural areas, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has said.

“The State government policy is now for the diversification of tourism to areas which are new and have tourism potential…We are hopeful that our efforts will not only promote rural tourism but also diversify tourists to rural or new areas and decongest the over saturated stations,” said Mr. Dhumal here on Saturday at a road show organised in the city to promote tourism.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has cleared the ambitious `3,600 crore Renuka Dam project to be constructed on a tributary of the Yamuna river in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

The Renuka dam has been in the eye of a storm because water activists are opposed to water being supplied to the NCR from large distances. The Renuka dam is located 250 km from Delhi and on completion will supply 275 million gallons of water per day to Delhi.

The Himachal Pradesh government has cleared a proposal for setting up two industrial units which are likely to bring in investments worth Rs 215 crore. The Rs 196 crore unit of Indian Tecnomac company will manufacture aluminum granules and quick lime which is likely to generate 624 jobs.

The Rs 19 crore project of Panacea Biotech would expand its operations in the state and would open 52 jobs vacancies, a spokesman for the state government said.

Brisk showers, accompanied by thunder, lashed parts of the state this afternoon.