Purchase of 250 news buses by Transport Dept approved
By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 30 Apr: A meeting of the Uttarakhand Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was held here today during which approval was granted to 18 significant proposals. The approvals reflected policy changes to boost infrastructure, transport, education, legal services and forest management.
Secretary Shailesh Bagoli briefed the media on the cabinet decisions.
Among the prominent decisions, enhanced financial powers have been delegated for works related to the forthcoming Kumbh Mela, while the State Transport Corporation has been permitted to procure 250 new buses. In a notable administrative reform, the educational qualification for the post of forest sub-inspector has been raised from Intermediate to graduate level.
The Cabinet accorded approval to the Uttarakhand Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 2026, under the Transport Department. It also approved uniform assessment norms for enforcement drivers in line with those in the Police Department, bringing parity in service conditions. In view of preparations for Kumbh Mela 2027 at Haridwar, the Cabinet simplified the approval process for permanent and temporary works. In a significant decision, which may however spark controversy, the projects up to Rs 1 crore will now be sanctioned by the Mela Officer, while works up to Rs 5 crores can now be approved by the Garhwal Commissioner. It may be recalled that, at present, former DM of Dehradun, Sonika is the Mela Officer while Vinay Kumar Pandey is the Commissioner, Garhwal. Both these officers are considered to have the confidence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Proposals exceeding Rs 5 crores will continue to require sanction at the government level. The government claims that this decision would pace up development work related to the Kumbh Mela.
The Cabinet also approved amendments to the Uttarakhand State Legal Services Authority Rules, 2026, taking into account the increasing number of cases related to ex-servicemen. District Soldiers’ Welfare Officers will now be nominated as ex-officio members of District Legal Services Authorities. Additionally, victims of acid attacks have been included among beneficiaries entitled to free legal aid.
In the industrial sector, the Cabinet approved an amendment to the Uttarakhand Minor Minerals Concession Rules, 2023, increasing the royalty rate on minerals from Rs 7 per quintal to Rs 8 per quintal. It also sanctioned the proposal of the Commercial Tax Department to amend its rules in line with the earlier excise policy decision fixing VAT at 6 per cent.
In a very significant decision aimed at strengthening the public transport services in the state, the Transport Department today received approval for procurement of 250 buses, while a prior sanction for purchase of 100 buses has been revised to 109 buses in view of reduction in GST rates from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, enabling cost optimisation.
Significant changes were also approved in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Forest Service Rules, 2016. The educational qualification for the post of forest sub-inspector has been raised from Intermediate to graduation. The age limit for forest sub-inspector has been fixed at 21 to 35 years, while for forest guards it has been set between 18 and 25 years. These changes will be governed by existing provisions of uniformed service rules issued earlier by the Personnel Department.
With regard to minority education, the Cabinet approved amendments linked to the Uttarakhand Minority Education Act, 2025, notified in October last year. While earlier all the minority institutions from Class 1 to 12 were required to obtain affiliation from the School Education Council, Ramnagar, the revised arrangement allows institutions operating from Class 1 to 8 to be affiliated through district-level education committees or competent authorities designated by the government. Institutions running Classes 9 to 12 will continue to require affiliation from the School Education Council. The Cabinet also approved bringing an ordinance to implement these provisions.
In matters of personnel administration, the Cabinet approved a proposal to streamline procedures in cases where waiting lists for single cadre posts are received within one year and directed formulation of a clear Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to ensure uniformity across departments and commissions.
In compliance with a Supreme Court judgment in Rajneesh Kumar Pandey and others versus Union of India delivered on 28 October 2021 and the subsequent guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education in 2022, the Cabinet approved revised educational qualifications for recruitment of special education teachers at the secondary level, incorporating these into the Uttarakhand Special Education Teacher Rules.
The Cabinet also approved promulgation of the Uttarakhand Sanskrit Education Service Rules, 2026. This addresses a long-pending gap that had affected promotions of teachers. Although 62 posts including Principal, Headmaster, Lecturer and Assistant Teacher had been created earlier, absence of notified service rules had impeded career progression.
In the Public Works Department (PWD), the Cabinet approved a proposal relating to Junior Engineer recruitment conducted in 2023 for 2,010 posts. Seven posts earmarked for persons with disabilities had been filled from the general category due to non-availability of eligible candidates. In accordance with a High Court ruling that such posts should remain vacant, the Cabinet approved creation of equivalent posts retrospectively from 2023.
The Cabinet also took note of a High Court stay order concerning government orders issued on 16 January 2026 regarding grant of pension to work-charged employees and counting of their qualifying service, which had followed an earlier Cabinet decision dated 1 January 2026.
Further, the Cabinet approved enhancement of the tender limit for ‘D’ category contractors under the Uttarakhand Procurement Rules, 2025, from Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore, a move expected to expand opportunities for smaller contractors.
In the higher education sector, the Cabinet approved extension of the Chief Minister’s Higher Education Research Promotion Scheme, which was earlier applicable only to government colleges, to 21 aided non-government colleges where regular principals are in position.
Another proposal approved regarding the forest sector, is regarding promotion of beekeeping along forest fringes. The Uttarakhand Forest Fringe Beekeeping, Bee-based Livelihood and Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Policy aims to enhance rural incomes, promote self-employment and reduce incidents of human-elephant conflicts. With nearly 70 per cent of the State under forest cover, the policy seeks to harness the substantial potential for apiculture in forest boundary areas.
