Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai chaired a cabinet meeting held at the Mahanadi Bhawan today, resulting in several important decisions. The council of ministers approved the appointment of Sneha Girepunje, the widow of Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Rao Girepunje, to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police in the State Police Service. This was done to recognize his sacrifice and bravery during an anti-Naxal operation in Sukma district. Akash Rao Girepunje was killed in a bomb blast on June 9, 2025.
The cabinet also approved amendments to the state’s solar energy policy to encourage the use of non-traditional energy sources and decrease the reliance on traditional energy. Key decisions include:
* **Policy Timeline:** The revised solar energy policy will now be valid until 2030, or until a new policy is released by the state government.
* **Industry Benefits:** Solar energy projects will be given priority industry status under the state’s industrial policy.
* Investors will receive various benefits, such as interest subsidies, capital cost subsidies for micro industries, GST reimbursements for small, medium, and large industries, electricity duty exemptions, stamp duty exemptions, project report preparation grants, waivers on land use change fees, fee concessions for land from the land bank, exemptions on land premiums for entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes/Tribes, disabled individuals, senior citizens, and the third gender community, grants for employing disabled individuals, and special packages for mega and ultra-mega projects.
* The cabinet also approved the appointment of Rita Shandilya, currently a member and acting chairperson of the Public Service Commission, as the chairperson of the Public Service Commission.
* The meeting also saw the approval of increasing the monthly honorarium for retired media personnel under the Chhattisgarh Senior Media Personnel Honorarium Fund from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. This increase was previously announced in the 2025-26 budget.
