Govt allocates 18 more Lal Batti posts, more in the offing

DEHRADUN, 5 Apr: With less than half the tenure of the BJP government left in Uttarakhand, the government and the party have, as expected, taken steps to appease certain party leaders as well as few RSS activists. Just a few days after the government allocated around 20 Lal Batti posts, another 18 party workers or RSS activists have been given Lal Batti posts through an order issued late Friday evening. Sources claim that another one or two rounds of appointments are expected shortly.

While, politically this move can be seen not only as a step to appease those given appointments but also as a move to appease the political masters of these leaders or activists, the government claims that this is a measure intended to expedite the implementation of public welfare schemes and enhance their monitoring. The government further claims that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has assigned various departmental responsibilities to key dignitaries in the state in the greater public interest to ensure more effective governance. Among the senior party leaders who have been assigned Lal Batti posts this time include the current state party treasurer Puneet Mittal.

Providing details on the assignments, Director General of Information Banshidhar Tiwari shared that Balbeer Ghuniyal has been appointed vice-president of the Herbal Advisory Committee; Surendra Mogha as vice -president of the Uttarakhand Animal Welfare Board; Bhuvan Vikram Dabral as vice-president of the Herbal Advisory Committee; Subhash Barthwal as vice-president of the Rajya Andolankari Samman Parishad; Puneet Mittal as vice-president of the Urban Environment Protection Council; Girish Dobhal as vice-president of the State Mute Council; Geetaram Gaur as vice-president of the Uttarakhand Tribal Advisory Council; Dr Jaipal as vice-president of the Uttarakhand State Higher Education Upgradation Committee; Deshraj Karnawal as vice-president of the Social Welfare Schemes and Monitoring Committee; Ajit Chaudhary as vice-president of the Uttarakhand State Farmers Commission; Pratap Singh Panwar as vice-president of the State Medicinal Plant Board; Jagat Singh Chauhan as vice-president of the State Level Minor Irrigation Advisory Committee; Geeta Rawat as president of the State Level Vigilance Committee; Shankar Koranga as vice-president of the State Level Watershed Council; Maheshwar Singh Mahara as vice-president of the Tea Development Advisory Council; Sardar Manjit Singh as co-chairman of the State Level Sugarcane Development Advisory Committee; Naveen Verma as vice-president of the Senior Citizen Welfare Council; and Ashok Nabiyal as vice-president of the Uttarakhand Tribal Advisory Council.

Some senior party leaders, though may not be holding any important office right now, continue to wield influence in the party and have managed to get their supporters appointed. Among them include former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and certain functionaries from RSS.