UTTARAKHAND

Uttarakhand to build 17,000 polyhouses in a year

by

In a major push to the sector, theUttarakhand cabinet approved 17,648polyhousesin the Himalayan state.

These polyhouses would be used to grow vegetables, flowers and fruits. While a farmer would contribute 20% of the fund required, the remaining 80% would be provided by the State Government.

In a major decision to prevent traffic snarls and unplanned constructions at key locations in the hills, the government has decided that anyone constructing a structure within a distance of 50 metre of state highways, national highways and key tourist locations in hill areas will have to take permission from the development authorities. Similarly, in the plains, the distance would be 100 metre from such locations.

An approval has also been given to develop 603 primary schools and 76 higher secondary schools as centres of excellence. There are schools where students from a distance up to 5km are coming for Education and the cabinet aims to provide better facilities in such institutions. “In the first phase, we have identified these schools and it will be ensured that the required number of teachers and facilities are provided to the selected institutions,” he added.

Besides, the cabinet has also waived off the compounding fee of Rs 65 lakh on the land and houses made for Tibetan refugees in Tarla Nagal area. The land for the project and also the houses were provided by government itself.

Sports village seeks better infrastructure for its budding talent

by

Libberheri village in Narsan block of Haridwar district is known for its culture of https://exam.pscnotes.com/Sports“>Sports. For years, enthusiasts have taken it upon themselves to build sports academies and have trained youngsters in several disciplines like wrestling, judo, kabaddi and volleyball. Villagers claim around two dozen sportspersons from Libberheri have played in national tournaments. Ahead of the upcoming polls to choose a panchayat head, villagers say they will elect the candidate who would allocate land for a Khelo India Centre of Excellence in Libberheri.

Residents believe a Khelo India Centre (KIC) of Excellence, several of which have been built across the country under the Union Sports ministrys Khelo India initiative with an aim to groom grassroot talent, is the villages need of the hour.

More than 6,000 beneficiaries have so far availed the benefit of One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme since its implementation in Uttarakhand. The secretary of food and civil supplies, B S Manral told The Pioneer that 1,303 migrants from other states have taken the benefit of the scheme while a total of 835 natives of the states who have changed the districts within the state have availed the scheme. He said that the process of digitization and Aadhaar seeding of 99.87 per cent ration cards under the National Food Security scheme has been completed. There are 14.03 Lakh such cards with 61 lakh units in the state. Manral added that under the State Food security scheme the state has 9.65 lakh ration cards. There are more than 23 lakh total ration cards in Uttarakhand.

by

The one nation one ration card scheme strives to enable national portability of ration card. The scheme is being implemented under National Act (NFSA). Under the scheme all the ration card holders can avail the benefit from Fair Price Shops (FPS) anywhere in the country. For availing this benefit the beneficiaries need to make a call on toll free number 14,445 and inform the place they have shifted to. The service would then tell the nearest FPS to which the beneficiary can take the ration. The FPS concerned would then do a simple authentication based on bio-metric system and Aadhaar and provide the ration to the displaced card holder. The One Nation One Ration Card scheme was initially started in four states in August 2019 and it is now implemented in the entire country.

Cabinet endorses 10 % job reservations for Statehood activists

by

In an important decision the State cabinet approved the proposal to provide 10 per cent horizontal reservation to Statehood activists in jobs. This decision was taken in the meeting of the cabinet held at Bharadisain in Gairsain.

The decision on reservation to Statehood activists assumes significance since the governor had returned the bill granting 10 per cent reservation to the statehood activists in the past. The statehood activists are not getting the benefit of reservation in government jobs for the past 12 years.

The approval of the cabinet to the proposal of reservation means that the State government will bring a bill in the Assembly and send it back to the governor who would now be constitutionally bound to give his approval to it. In another important decision the State cabinet approved the proposal to hike the Money allotted under the MLA Local Area Development (MLA LAD) fund from the existing Rs 3.75 crore to Rs five crore per year.

Over 3.5 lakh cases pending in Ukhand courts: RTI

by

Responding to an RTI, the public information officer of the said that more than 3.5 lakh cases are awaiting judgment in various courts in the state. Out of the 3.5 lakh cases, a total of 44,512 are pending in high court. The number of pending cases in the courts ofUttarakhandhas more than doubled in last eight years, theRTIquery revealed. The disclosure was made by thePIOof the high court to rights activistNadeem Uddinunder the RTI Act.

Ukhand cabinet approves stricter anti conversion laws in State

by

In a major decision, the Uttarakhand government has made forced religious conversions in the State as a non bailable cognizable offence. The offenders under the new law will serve up to 10 years of Jail term if convicted of forced conversion. In a meeting of the State cabinet held on Wednesday, the proposal to make suitable amendments in theUttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was approved. The cabinet in its meeting also took an in principle decision to shift the Nainital (HC) to Haldwani.A total of 26 issues were tabled in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami out of which a decision on 25 was taken.

The issue of forced conversion was the main agenda of the meeting. The cabinet approved the proposal to amend the existing laws in the State regarding religious conversions. In the new amendment the compensation payable by the accused to the victim of the religious conversion, has been increased to a maximum of Rs five lakh rupees, which shall be in addition to the fine. After the nod of the cabinet the amendment bill would now be tabled in the upcoming winter session of the assembly.

In another decision, the cabinet approved the proposal to set up a joint collaborative enterprise between the THDC India limited and UJVNL. In the new enterprise the THDC would have a stake of 74 per cent while the stake of UJVNL would be 26 per cent.

The cabinet also approved an amendment in the Uttarakhand Land revenue act of year 1901 which would solve the problem of the land disputes arising due to absence of the mutation. In an endeavour to increase mobile connectivity the cabinet cleared a proposal to clear hindrances in the way of construction of towers in selected areas. In the meeting a decision to bring rehabilitation and resettlement policy for the Jamrani Dam multipurpose project was made. A special type of Om symbol would be constructed in the arrival plaza of Kedarnath shrine.

Uttarakhand to come up with its own Himalayan brand of spices and vegetables

by

While inaugurating the three-day International Spices and Vegetable fest in Rishikesh.

Notably, Uttarakhand is among the frontrunners in producing spices, with 6.62 metric tonnes of spices being produced across one hectare of land. Overall, the state produces 96,282 metric tonnes of spices across 14,536 hectares, according to the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture departments 2019-2020 data. The hill state is among the leading producers of seven spices — turmeric, garlic, chilly, coriander, fenugreek, ginger and black cardamom.

The fest is being attended by stakeholders from several countries — like Russia, Australia, America,Singaporeand others. While some will attend the event virtually, others have come to Rishikesh for the fest.

NEP 2020 launched for higher education in Uttarakhand

by

The Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in higher education in Uttarakhand for the 2022-23 academic session.

Under the NEP 2020 children are being connected to formal education from the age of three years. After Learning in Bal Vatika for three years, the child will enter class I aged six years. For better and quality education to children from adolescence to the age of 21-22 years, Uttarakhand will have to move forward with a target of 40 lakh children. The State already has facilities for 35 lakh capacity in school education, higher education, technical education, medical-paramedical and other spheres. At a time when the nation is moving towards becoming Digital India, the higher education policy being made in Uttarakhand is a major step towards achieving this.

Uttarakhandhas emerged as one of the safest states for senior citizens in the country in terms of crime against elderly population, as per the latest data released by theNational Crime Records Bureau(NCRB).

by

Four cases of crime against senior citizens were registered in Uttarakhand in 2020, compared to six in 2019, the report said.

NeighbouringHimachal Pradesh, on the other hand, recorded 394 cases of crime against elderly persons, while 650 and 353 cases were registered in Haryana andUttar Pradesh, respectively.

Hence, among the northern states, Uttarakhand has emerged as the safest state for the senior citizens, leaving behind Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana andPunjab. As per the 2011 census, there are about nine lakh senior citizens in Uttarakhand.

Maharashtrameanwhile has emerged as the most unsafe state in the country for senior citizens with 4,909 cases of crime in 2020, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 4,602.

Uttarakhand human rights commission orders probe into all rehab centres in the state, both govt & pvt

by

The Uttarakhand Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the allegations of rape and abuse against operators of a private drug rehab centre in Dehraduns Clement Town, levelled by the four survivors who managed to escape last week.

The commission has given a weeks time to the secretary of the states social welfare department to give full details on the total number of rehab centres operational in Uttarakhand (both private and government), the rules and regulations regarding the opening of these centres, the guidelines according to which these centres are run, details of permissions granted and details of those who oversee the centres.