The budget session of Uttarakhand Assembly started in Dehradun on Monday with the address of the governor lieutenant general (retd) Gurmit Singh. In his address the governor emphatically stated that the State is moving at a fast pace to achieve the target of Sashakt Uttarakhand@25 and exuded confidence that with the active partnership of women, youth and ex-servicemen the State will soon be standing in the category of developed States. He said that the concept of the Sashakt Uttarakhand@25 is a step in the direction of making India a developed country by the year 2047 and to achieve this target the Pushkar Singh Dhami government has set up new dimensions in the financial year 2023-24.
He said that Uttarakhand became the first State in the country to pass the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill in which uniformity in civil and personal laws has been made. Women of all religions and sects have been given equal rights and are empowered in the UCC. The governor said that the Home department has issued a WhatsApp number 9411112780 for women safety. The police personnel are being trained in drone technology and operation for better monitoring, disaster management, traffic management, mapping, payload delivery, e- challan and live tracking. In his address the governor mentioned successful hosting of three meetings of the G20 summit and 24th meeting of the central regional council by the State. He said that the State also organised the global investors summit in December 2023 to attract investment and claimed that the State has a favourable atmosphere for both ease and peace of doing business. The department of Planning has set up Uttarakhand Infrastructure and Investment Development Board (UIIDB) for development and uplifting of the State's economy. The UIIDB will identify the PPP projects, their practicability, determine gap funding and undertake risk analysis. The planning department has also prepared a Sashakt Uttarakhand Implementation Plan to make the State a developed State in the next five years.
Under the Manaskhand Mandir Mala Mission the Tourism department has identified 48 ancient temples and in the first phase 16 temples will be developed. A Bharat Gaurav Manaskhand Express will start operating from April 2024 to the Kathgodam and Tanakpur railway stations. The State government is also working on a plan to develop Badrinath Dham as a smart spiritual hill town. In the new tourism policy-2023, a provision of 50 to 100 per cent grant has been made for attracting investment in the tourism sector.
The governor said that the Higher Education department has implemented ‘one State, one election, one examination and one convocation’ policy in the colleges and universities of the State. The department is also encouraging research under the CM higher education research encouragement scheme. He said that the education department has started an innovative ‘Apnu School Apnu Praman’ scheme in Tehri district under which income, caste and domicile certificates are being provided to the students in their schools.
Singh said that a satellite centre of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh is coming up in Udham Singh Nagar district. To strengthen the AYUSH services, the State government has formulated a new AYUSH policy and India’s first Yoga policy. He said that the Forest department is conserving the Bugyals (Alpine meadows) in Rudraprayag, Tehri, Pithoragarh and Badrinath forest ranges using the latest geo jute technology. To promote eco tourism a high power committee under the chief secretary has been set up. Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), 13 helipads and seven heliports are being developed. The governor said that the long pending Jamrani dam project has been approved under PMKSY of the Centre. Apart from providing 42 MCL drinking water to Haldwani city, the project will irrigate 1.5 lakh hectare land area and produce 63 MU electricity.
Singh said that Uttarakhand received a revenue of Rs 7,341 crore in 2022-23 which is 23 per cent more than last year. The government has started the ‘Bill Lao Inam Pao’ scheme for the consumer to encourage them to ask for the GST bill. The government has decided to provide one kg of Mandwa per ration card per month from PDS shops under the Uttarakhand State Millet Mission. The Fisheries department will set up a State level integrated aqua park. Under the State integrated cooperative development scheme 45,000 families of the farmers are directly being benefited. The governor said that 51 villages of five blocks of Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Uttarkashi have been earmarked under the vibrant village programme. The Public Works Department has started the Himwant project for slope stabilisation. A PWD patch reporting application has been launched to make the roads free from potholes. The Information department has prepared an attractive film policy in the State under which 146 film producers were given approval to shoot in Uttarakhand.
