Question Hour
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 21 Feb: It was the turn of Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi, Alternate Energy Resources and Pushkar Singh Dhami, Labour Employment Minister Saurabh Bahuguna to respond to the questions and during the question hour, some ministers had to face some embarrassment as the Opposition members today appeared determined to press for and trouble the ministers with their supplementary questions. On behalf of the CM, responses related to the departments under his charge were given by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal.
In response to a short notice question regarding power generation from pine needles, by BJP MLA Brij Bhushan Gairola, who is very regular in asking questions, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal conceded that, while under the policy framed some years ago regarding power generation from pine needles collected from forests, 21 plants were approved but only 6 plants could be set up. He claimed that of the parties interested initially to set up power generation plants using pine needles, 15 did not pursue their interest and did not apply. For this reason, these proposed units could not be established.
In response to a question from Adesh Chauhan whether a large number of immigrants from Assam, Bengal and UP have settled in district Haridwar illegally in hutments or in colonies inhabited by a particular community, Prem Chand Aggarwal on behalf of the Home Minister claimed that verification drives and campaigns are being run by the administration. Aggarwal informed the House that, last year, verification of 159 persons from West Bengal and 317 from Assam, and 1576 from UP have been verified besides 205 persons from other states this year.
BJP MLA Brij Bhushan Gairola also asked how many employment fairs have been organised during the past two years and how many youths had been provided employment through them. He also asked if the minister was aware of the fact that, in many cases, the companies participating in employment fairs hire youth only to dismiss them soon after. Skills Development Minister Saurabh Bahuguna responded by stating that 152 employment fairs were organised in 2023-24 and 56 in 2025-26 so far. The Employment Department provides a platform, and no case of exploitation has been reported yet. He said that in case anyone is aware of such cases related to exploitation of the youth, they should inform the authorities, and any offending company will be blacklisted.
Congress MLA Virendra Jati questioned the number of unemployed people in the state. Saurabh Bahuguna replied that 8 lakh individuals are registered with the Employment Department. It is not mandatory for those who get jobs to inform the department about their employment.
MLA Vinod Chamoli inquired about the government’s expenditure on organising 56 fairs. Minister Saurabh Bahuguna responded that there is no special budget for organising fairs in the Employment Department. MLA Umesh Kumar asked about the results of the fair organised by the Employment Office in Lansdowne on 29 December, specifically if local youths were employed in companies. Bahuguna stated that youths were selected in various companies, including 152 in SIS Security, 113 in G4, 36 in Maruti, 40 in Sky Space, 26 in Mahindra, and 20 in Golden Plus.
Congress MLA Virendra Jati raised concerns about unlicenced shopkeepers selling agricultural equipment and chemical fertilisers or pesticides. He asked about the number of licensed chemical fertiliser shops, samples tested since the state’s formation, and actions taken against shopkeepers selling adulterated fertilisers. Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi responded that 7,827 fertiliser samples have been collected since the state’s formation, and 13 licences have been cancelled. Additionally, a dealer from Haridwar was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000, he stated.
