In his detailed reply, Sukhu said the Rajiv Gandhi Self-Employment Startup Scheme was promoting green-sector opportunities, including e-taxis, solar power and natural farming. (File Photo)The Himachal Pradesh Assembly witnessed heated exchanges on Tuesday over unemployment and vacant government posts, with BJP members staging a walkout after Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania declined to allow supplementary questions during Question Hour.Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and BJP MLA Jeet Ram Katwal targeted the Congress government over its promise of one lakh permanent government jobs and questioned the large number of vacancies across departments.Katwal cited 10,853 vacancies in primary education and 3,432 in higher education. The police department has 3,753 vacant posts, while the State Electricity Board has 3,635 vacancies, which is around 57 per cent of its sanctioned strength, he said. The Public Works Department, he said, has 2,768 vacancies, while the Health and Jal Shakti departments have 1,298 and 517, respectively. Katwal claimed around 37 per cent of posts across departments and 57 per cent in the electricity board are vacant.Also Read | Jana Gana Mana at start of session, full Vande Mataram at end, rules Himachal SpeakerResponding to the questions, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the government was preparing a policy to safeguard the future of outsourced employees working in various departments, boards and corporations. “It is not possible to provide a government job to every individual,” he said, adding the government is stressing the need to promote self-employment.In his detailed reply, Sukhu said the Rajiv Gandhi Self-Employment Startup Scheme was promoting green-sector opportunities, including e-taxis, solar power and natural farming.Also Read | Sukhvinder Sukhu has survived rebellion, disaster and debt. Can he now win?“The scheme provides a 50 per cent subsidy to eligible youth purchasing e-taxis. So far, 96 beneficiaries have received subsidies totalling Rs 6.93 crore. For 2026-27, the government has allocated Rs 50 crore to provide 50 per cent subsidy to 500 youth for purchasing e-taxis and plans similar support for 500 e-rickshaws,” he said.The scheme’s fourth phase also provides a 50 per cent subsidy for electric buses and 30 per cent for diesel buses, with at least 10 routes proposed in each subdivision.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Sukhvinder Sukhu has survived rebellion, disaster and debt. Can he now win?He further informed the House that 28 employment fairs and 1,587 campus interviews had been held during the Congress government’s tenure, providing private-sector opportunities to 23,096 Himachali youth. The government has set a target of 500 campus interviews in 2026-27, he added.Further, six overseas placement drives have also been conducted, with 396 candidates participating and 156 selected for foreign employment, including 68 who secured jobs in the UAE. The government aims to facilitate overseas employment for 1,000 youth during 2026-27.The department has provided career counselling to 1,21,515 youth and disbursed Rs 108.96 crore in skill-development allowances up to June 2026. Under the Mukhyamantri Swavlamban Yojana, 1,625 cases have been approved during the present government’s tenure, with 3,950 jobs created through 1,692 units. The government also said its start-up and innovation initiatives have selected 407 incubatees, with 124 start-ups commercialised and 12 receiving seed support under the HIMSUP scheme.The opposition expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s response on vacancies and sought to raise additional questions. Pathania, however, declined to permit further questions, citing shortage of time and noting that the issue had already been discussed for more than 25 minutes. He also pointed out that a discussion on the subject had been proposed under Rule 130.