UTTARAKHAND

To expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Uttarakhand, the Government of India has released a second tranche of Rs 360.95 crore to the State. So far, Rs. 721.90 crore has been released in two tranches to the State in 2020-21. For speedy implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, Central fund of Rs 1,443.80 crore has been allocated to Uttarakhand in 2021-22, which is four times the allocation made during 2020-21.

The Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is according top priority to make provision of tap water supply in every rural household across the country, for which since August 2019, Jal Jeevan Mission is under implementation in PARTNERSHIP with States.

Uttarakhand plans to become Har Ghar Jal State by December, 2022. The centre is providing full assistance to the State for making provision of clean tap water supply in every rural Home of Uttarakhand by the end of year 2022, two years ahead of the national goal of Har Ghar Jal. Expediting the process of approval of big multi-village drinking water supply schemes, in last two months, schemes worth Rs. 714 crore for 58.5 thousand homes in 846 villages spread across 11 districts of Uttarakhand benefitting more than 3 lakh people have been approved by the State-level scheme sanctioning committee (SLSSC). This will immensely reduce the drudgery faced by Women and children who spent many hours every day fetching water from distant water sources.

The Uttarakhand government is in the process of engaging US-based consultancy firmMcKinsey Globalfor two years to help it in drafting and implementing policies to double the state’s economy in 5 next years. Talking about the need to rope in the global firm, officials said the has set a target to double the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) from Rs 2.73 lakh crore to Rs 5.5 lakh crore by achieving a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 15% in the next five years.

In the first six months, the consultancy firm will carry out diagnostic study and in the remaining 1.5 years, it will do the handholding in the implementation of projects.

Besides tourism, the focus areas will be Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture, Horticulture, urban (brownfield and greenfield cities), service sector, infra projects (core as well as social sectors) and new cities.

In Uttarakhand, the government is targeting seven to eight products that have great potential and can prove a game changer in future.

TheUttarakhandgovernment is also preparing a draft for an ordinance in the matter.

Before approaching the apex court, the government may bring an ordinance to provide respite to Women seeking jobs.

The state wants to bring an ordinance on the issue before approaching The Supreme Court. The state cabinet may likely give a nod to the ordinance in the next cabinet meeting.

In a major step towards providing quality Education, theUttarakhandeducation department has decided to teach foreign languages likeGerman, French, and others in itsAtal Utkrisht Schools.

The Atal Utkrisht Schools are CBSE-affiliated English-medium institutions. They have been developed on the lines of top private schools. Currently, we have 28,000 students enrolled in about 180 Atal schools. The strength of students in these model schools is likely to increase in the coming months.”

Meanwhile, the education department is yet to start the process to recruit primary teachers in state-run schools even as the aspirants, looking forward to the recruitment process, have been protesting for over a year now. They have urged the government to set the recruitment process in motion as early as possible.
According to an estimate, more than 2,000 teacher posts are vacant in primary schools across the hill state.

Covid-19 has triggered the need for goat products — be it goat milk, cheese or curd — as per the state’s animal husbandry officials. To capitalise on this opportunity, the state has decided to convert its Someshwar in Almora, Pinder valley of Chamoli, Garud valley of Bageshwar, Agustmuni belt of Rudraprayag and Thalisen belt of Pauri into “goat valleys”. The aim is to have homestays and -related works in these valleys with a tourist-like experience that would bring people closer to the serenity of rural villages of Himalayas.

These middle Himalayan valleys are perfect houses for the goats to survive. To augment the livelihood of farmers and retain the natural landscape of these valleys, the project is being conducted which will be gradually expanded in other valleys, too.

The state has its own Uttarkhand Sheep Goat Farmer Cooperative Federation under which around 11,000 farmers are registered, availing the benefits of various state and central government-run schemes.

Tourists inUttarakhandcan soon enjoy caravan tourism, which tourism ministerSatpal Maharajsaid would give one the freedom to go anywhere by road, while maintaining social distancing.

Maharaj said the idea was to let people enjoy luxury travel with friends and family and camp at lesser-known locations while having all facilities of a Home. The booking format and charges will soon be announced by the department.

The tourism minister said the caravan project would also open up opportunities for self-EMPLOYMENT for locals. A Caravan Investor Promotion Cell has been created by thetourism department, through which locals can purchase a caravan.

This opportunity will be made available under theMSME ministryand the tourism department. For this, the government is also offering fixed grants.

Subsequently, a group of 25 to 50 owners of eateries and some local vendors will be formed to make a clean street food hub and Fssai authorised training will be provided to these group members to run their business more effectively, stated Joshi. He said that marked vendors and owners can take help of the training to eliminate any issues within the stipulated time frame under FSSAI. Joshi said that with this programme, FSSAI aims to develop a plan that supports a healthy, safe and sustainable food Environment supported by institutional, physical, social and economic along with the application of smart solutions to combat food related issues in a smart city. He said that the administration will also take help from the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) and local business associations for the smooth operation of the programme.

The NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga) was launched in June 2014. In the 36th Executive Committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, new projects were approved for the rejuvenation of six rivers in the state of Uttarakhand.

Highlights:

According to the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board), there are nine polluted stretches in Uttarakhand, and six are in the Udham Singh Nagar district on various tributaries or small rivers such as Bhela, Dhela, Kichha, Nandor, Pilankha and Kosi.

The projects shall cover the 6 polluted river stretches in the Kumaon region. Out of the rest three polluted stretches, the task of Ganga at Jagjeetpur, Haridwar has been commissioned already, and on the remaining two, Namami Gange projects are already under execution.

It also approved Sewerage (I&D) scheme (Dhela River) Phase-1 of District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand under Namami Gange Programme at a sanctioned cost of Rs 199.36 crore.

The state’s firstfecal slush treatment plant, established in theUS Nagar districtheadquarters,Rudrapur, will start functioning in July this year.

With a capacity of 125 KLD (kiloliters per day), the central government has assigned Rupees 6.89 crores for the construction of the plant. Around 90 percent of the project has already been completed, with an anticipated commencement in July. Once completed, the plant will yield numerous environmental benefits, safeguard the city from pollution and prevent underground water contamination

TheUttarakhandgovernment has decided to expand theRashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram, a state-run welfare scheme to promote the well-being of adolescents (10-19 years), from six to nine districts.

The welfare scheme was already ongoing in Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Pauri,Tehri Garhwaland Nainital districts. It will now be implemented in Bageshwar, Rudraprayag andAlmora.

Under the scheme, which envisages the strengthening of the Health system, awareness is spread among adolescents about Nutrition. Convergence of various institutions from different departments — anganwadi centres, colleges, schools and the health department — is essential for swift and reliable results in reducing health issues among adolescents.