The chief minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami attended a joint conference of chief ministers of the states and chief justices of high courts at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Saturday. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the conference.
In the programme the CM Dhami gave an account of the steps taken in the legal sector by the state. He said that the state has done a cadre review of law officers and increased their number from 230 to 299. He said that at present 271 judges are working in the state. He further informed that 26 technical officers are deployed in the HC.
He said that the state has disposed of all the cases pending from three and more years and in the last few years undertook five projects for construction of district court buildings in the state. Dhami said that the state has prepared its five year and yearly infrastructural plans in consultation with the High Court. This proposal has been sent to the union government after which the centre has allotted a sum of Rs 80 Crore under Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) to the state.
Dhami said that the state government has appointed 13 member secretaries in all the 13 district legal service authority for providing free legal service. Similarly the state has set up special juvenile police units in all the 13 districts of the state. He added that the state has notified the guidelines of providing facilities for the retired justices of HV in December 2021.
Dhami informed the gathering that two industrial courts have started functioning in the state and soon the National Law University would start functioning. The state government has started a unique mobile court van in all the 13 districts for the aged and ill witnesses. In these vans witnesses are attending the proceedings by video conferencing. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country where this facility is provided.
The education and health minister, Dhan Singh Rawat started the month-long ‘ Aao Gaon Chalen, Uttarakhand ko Tambaku Mukt Karen’ programme here on Saturday. Under the programme task forces at state and district levels would be constituted. One of the highlights of the programme would be the mass pledge of making the state tobacco free by five lakh people in different parts of the state on the occasion of World Tobacco day on May 31. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that a massive awareness campaign would be undertaken in the state in the month-long drive.
Seminars would be organised with the help of NGOs in the colleges, school, blocks, municipal corporations and district Panchayats. In these programmes the local public representatives, district level officers, MLAs and Member of Parliament (MPs) would take part. These seminars would be organised from May 10 to 20 and from May 20 to 30, registration of the people interested to take part in anti tobacco pledge would be done. The minister said that about 26.5 per cent people in the state consume tobacco while this percentage is at 28.6 per cent at national level. He suggested that two villages in every block should be selected initially for making the state tobacco free. Rawat added that an awareness drive should be undertaken to make the programme a success. Rajpur road MLA Khajan Das said that the programme undertaken under the National Tobacco control programme would help in disseminating knowledge about the ill effects of consuming tobacco.
The director general (DG) of State Health Services Dr Tripti Bahuguna, Vice Chancellor (VC) of Uttarakhand Open university OPS Negi, director of Health Dr Shailja Bhatt, director of National Health Mission (NHM) Dr Saroj Naithani, Dr Archana Pandey, Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) Police headquarters Pramod Kumar, Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of all districts and others took part in the programme.