Keeping in view of upcoming general elections due in 2014, the Vijay Bahuguna-led State Government has announced Diwali bonanza for 70,000 families of Haridwar, Dehradun and Udhamsingh-nagar districts by giving them title right of their land on Friday.
The Cabinet has empowered the residents, who were residing on lease land, which were given under Government Grant Act, class IV and Assami land in Haridwar.
The Cabinet has also decided to include Bhatwari, Chinyalisaur and Dunda block residents into OBC category. This was disclosed by the Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna along with Cabinet Minister Yashpal Arya, Pritam Singh Panwar and two MlA Vijaypal Sajwan and Subodh Uniyal after a Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat on Friday late evening.
To rehabilitate the people, who were either come from Pakistan after partition or Bangladesh after liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan, the Union Government had given them land on lease, but they were not having right to sell off or mortgage their land before bank. For this they were consistently putting pressure on their public representative to give them right on their land. Now cabinet has empowered them title right so that they can mortgage their property or sell their property in case of their need or emergency.
In Haridwar, SC/ST/OBC people were given land on lease by the State Government, but they were not having right to sell off their property. The land is being known as Assami land in Haridwar.
Talking to media persons, Chief Minister Bahuguna said that it was one of the long-pending demands of these people, so the Cabinet has decided to award them title right or "you can say that their land has been regularized by the State Government. With this, they can use their land for personal purpose."As far as hill people are concerned, the State Government has already constituted a Cabinet sub committee comprised of four Cabinet minister, including Yashpal Arya, Preetam Singh, Surendra Rakesh and Harak Singh Rawat.
They are busy in study and their report will be discussed in next Cabinet meeting, which is schedule to happen on November 7. Besides it cabinet has also increased the emolument of employee, who were appointed under MNREGA.
Earlier they were being recruited through agency but now they will be directly recruited by the Rural Development Department. There is assumption that 35,000 posts are lying vacant in the state so government has decided to fill all these vacant post. This procedure is being monitored by the chief secretary on fortnight basis. CM also made it clear that 700 employees are working under MNREGA on daily basis so they will be given priority while government starts recruitment against the vacant post.
To address the police constable grievance, who had filled application from two district but appeared in one district and now they are running from pillar to post because police department terminated them when they were found that they filled application form from two district, Cabinet has also constituted a Cabinet sub committee comprised of three Cabinet minister Preetam Singh, Surendra Singh Negi and Surendra Rakesh. The committee will conduct enquiry and will submit their fact finding report to the State.