By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun/Varanasi, 14 Dec: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the ‘Good Governance Conference’ of the Council of Chief Ministers organised under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi today.
On this occasion, a presentation was given by the state on Uttarakhand’s Home Stay Scheme under the best practices category. During the presentation, it was stated that special attention was being paid to home stays in the state with the objective of providing self-employment opportunities, developing new tourist places, acquainting tourists with the culture of the state, and preventing migration.
Under the Home Stay category, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Home Stay Scheme, Trekking Traction Centre, and Home Stay Grant Scheme are being run in the state.
It was also stated that it is mandatory to register the home stay under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Home Stay Scheme. Capital assistance of up to Rs 15 lakhs and interest subsidy of up to Rs 1.50 lakhs are given to the beneficiaries under the scheme. Provision has been made for 100 percent reimbursement of State GST for 5 years. There are more than 3700 home stays registered in the state. A total amount of Rs 14.53 crores has been disbursed as capital assistance under this scheme. More than 8 thousand jobs have been created through this scheme. The government is also grading the home stay operators for development of tourism infrastructure in villages, and also promoting advertisement of home stays on private websites, online through government websites, providing free training, free participation in travel marts and helping in quality assessment.
The presentation further mentioned that there is a provision of financial grant for the Trekking Traction Centre Home Stay Grant Scheme being run in the state with the aim of preventing migration from border and remote areas and promoting mountaineering activities. Under this scheme, a grant of Rs 3.20 crores has been approved for 120 beneficiaries till October 2021.
During the Good Governance Conference, presentations were also made on behalf of Uttarakhand on the progress of the Atal Ayushman Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), PM Street Vendor Self-Reliance Fund Scheme and Swamitva (Ownership) Scheme.
It was disclosed that 45.22 lakh Ayushman cards had been issued in the state, so far. The cards were being distributed free of cost. Payments are being made to the hospitals within a week of treatment and submission of bills. For redressal of complaints, the facility of a toll free call centre and 10 percent incentive money is being paid in addition to package rates for the hospitals in hill areas.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural), 12,662 beneficiaries were selected in Phase-I under the target received from the Government of India, against which 12,427 houses had been completed. In Phase-II, a target of constructing 16,472 houses had been set by the Government of India, on which action is in progress. Under this scheme, additional assistance of Rs 5000 per beneficiary is being given by the state government to the beneficiaries for the purchase of utensils. All the eligible landless families are being allotted land pattas by the state government. Electricity, water, road, and drainage facilities are being provided for the development of residential colonies.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), 3802 houses have been constructed for BLC (Beneficiary Led Construction), 13,287 houses for CLSS (Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme) and 464 houses for AHP (Affordable Housing in Partnership). The funds are being distributed to the beneficiaries through DBT. Geotagging of houses is also being done. The state government is providing additional grants of Rs 50,000 under BLC and Rs 1 Lakh under AHP. Free land use change has been arranged. Arrangements have been made for free allotment of 50 square metres of Nazul land for the beneficiaries of PMAY.
Under the PM Street Vendor Atmanirbhar Nidhi Yojana, out of 11,543 approved applications, 10,101 beneficiaries have already benefitted. Under this scheme, 2 percent additional interest subsidy is being given by the state government to the beneficiaries as also exemption in stamp duty. Under the Swamitva (ownership) scheme, 1,02,291 records of 2409 villages have been prepared in the state. Out of which 98,236 records have been distributed. Under this scheme, survey work has been completed in the four districts of Pauri Garhwal, Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar and Dehradun, while the survey exercise is in progress in remaining districts.
