Getting into the election mode with the crucial Assembly election barely a year away, Chief Minister Harish Rawat is going on with his announcement spree, saying that the deputy registrar’s office of Cooperative Department would come up both in Garhwal and Kumaon regions soon.
He also said that required funds would be released soon to clear the pension of the statehood activists and also for establishing forensic laboratory in the State. laying stress on involving the ministers in drafting the State budget for the year 2016-17, CM said that their suggestions would be duly taken into account as far as the budget is concerned.
Besides, a proposal is being mooted to increase pension for the widows of the martyrs of the Second World War, he said, adding that they would do everything to raise resource mobilization to the optimum level. CM said this while presiding over a joint meeting with the ministers and senior bureaucrats associated with departmental budget and inter-departmental matters at the Secretariat on Wednesday.
CM made it clear that the implementation of the cabinet decisions should not be unnecessary delayed. If any technical problem is found things must be brought before the cabinet, he stressed .
He also directed the officers concerned to complete all the formalities for establishing cardiac center in Almora at the earliest. The office of Registrar, Cooperative Department has been shifted to Almora, he said adding that bonus must be given on time to those engaged in milk production.
In view of importance of Ardh Kumbh, secretary finance Amit Negi should personally sort out the matter pending in finance department, he said.
The chief secretary Shatrughan Singh was directed to monitor and evaluate continuously the work of online submission of utilization certificates (UC) of several departments. CS was also asked to resolve inter-departmental matters by convening special meeting in the next two to three days.
CM also directed the officials to deploy a full time high level officer under the NRHM scheme. He asked for the preparation of an integrated plan for providing assistance to the girls for education, employment, vocational training and marriage by the same department.
The meeting was informed that a budget worth Rs200 crore for scholarship of SC and ST is yet to be released by the Centre. The Public Works Department informed that an amount of Rs964 crore had been spent by December 2014, while an amount of Rs1000 crore has been spent by December 2015, and the bills worth Rs250 crore have been sent to the treasury.
The meeting was also informed that an amount of Rs288 crore out of Rs523 crore as sanctioned by the Centre is yet to be released with the share of the State having been spent.
The Cabinet Ministers Preetam Singh, Surendra Singh Negi, Dinesh Agarwal, Harish Chandra Durgapal and Dinesh Dhanai, Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh, Chief Principal Secretary to CM, Rakesh Sharma and Additional Chief Secretary S. Raju were among others present at the meeting.