By Arun Pratap Singh
Bhararisain, 16 Mar: A second meeting of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s Cabinet was held at Bhararisain, today, during the current budget session of the state assembly.
No press briefing of the Cabinet meeting was held as the Assembly Session is in progress. In all, 7 proposals were submitted before the cabinet for discussion and all were approved. However, the much-awaited Excise Policy could not be presented for discussion and approval in the Cabinet Meeting although it was expected to be tabled in the current assembly session for approval. Sources claimed that the Excise Policy has not yet been vetted by the Law & Justice Department and, therefore, it could not be submitted for discussion and approval of the cabinet.
The cabinet approved the Tourism Policy 2023. It also approved an amendment in the Forest Conservation Act. As per the amended provision in the UP Private Forest Act (as adopted and implemented in Uttarakhand), made ostensibly to deter people from cutting trees, the provision for imprisonment has been done away with but the financial penalty for illegal felling of trees has been doubled. The Cabinet also sanctioned an amendment in the Tourism Operational Guidelines of 2018. It also approved a proposal that services of 38 junior engineers (JEs) currently deployed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) would be merged in the Rural Development Department. These JEs employed by the PWD on a contractual basis will now be hired under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana under the Rural Development Department.
The Cabinet also approved an amendment in the provisions related to deceased employees in the employee service rules. As per the amendment, widowed daughters-in-law have also been included in the definition of deceased dependant. A drone show had been held at the just concluded International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh. Post-facto approval for the drone show was also given by the Cabinet today.
