By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 27 Jul: At a cabinet meeting held today presided over by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, it was decided to open schools in Uttarakhand from 1 August. The cabinet decided to allow classes 6 to 12 to be held in a regular manner. It may be recalled that schools have been closed for long in the state in view of the Corona pandemic. In fact, it has been more than a year since classes have been held in schools in a regular manner. In between, the schools had been opened for classes 10 and 12 but the schools were shut again due to the second wave of Corona that hit the state earlier this year.
This was the third meeting of the cabinet held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. A total of 11 issues were discussed. The cabinet also approved a proposal to hold the Monsoon Session of the State Assembly from 23 to 27 August.
In addition to this, the cabinet also approved a proposal for a grant of Rs 50,000 to those who have cleared the preliminary examinations of Uttarakhand Public Service Commission to help them prepare for the mains examination. This grant would be provided to 100 candidates every year and a roster of reservations would also be maintained and applied in this respect. A similar grant was also approved for those clearing the preliminary examination of UPSC, NDA, CDS, etc.
Besides this, the cabinet also approved upgrading of the Kausani Panchayat to Kausani Nagar Panchayat and approved the appointment of Airports Authority of India (AAI) as consultants for the proposed greenfield airport at Pant Nagar. The AAI would be required to submit its Detailed Project Report (DPR) within 6 months.
The cabinet also approved the scheme of free ration under the State Food Scheme. Earlier, the CM had approved the scheme through devolution but now it was formally approved and adopted by the cabinet.
The cabinet also approved constitution of a four-member committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand Indu Pandey for matters relating to salary discrepancies. The committee would be asked to submit its report in this regard within a 3 month period and also to look into the issue of salaries in the Power Department. The cabinet also approved a proposal to amend the economic package for the tourism department that had been recently announced. Under the amended package, 539 boat operators from Naukuchia Tal, Saat Tal, etc., of Naintal district would also get financial assistance of Rs 10,000, each. Earlier, this package had been announced only for the boatmen of Naini Lake. The cabinet also approved exemption in renewal of licence fee to these boatmen and a proposal to grant Rs 2,000 per month to culture groups for a period of 5 months. The cabinet also granted authority to Principals of Medical Colleges at Haridwar, Pithoragarh and Rudrapur to draw their salaries and office expenses under their own signatures. Till now, the Finance Controller was the Drawing and Disbursement Officer in this regard.
