The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay has written to Chief Minister Harish Rawat requesting him to issue directions for resumption of dole provided to unemployed youth in the past.
According to the PCC chief spokesman Mathuradatt Joshi, in his letter to the chief minister, the PCC chief had stated that while touring the state he had been informed by representatives of unemployed associations and local unemployed youth at various places that in the past the state government had facilitated provision for payment of unemployment allowance to the unemployed youth.
However, the provision for payment of dole has now been discontinued by the current State Government. They also informed Upadhyay that the procedure of qualifying for the dole is also quite rigid with even those unemployed persons who have fulfilled the qualification are feeling cheated. Reminding the chief minister, the PCC chief said that the party election manifesto in the 2012 Vidhan Sabha election had promised that on being elected to office, the Congress government would provide monthly unemployment allowance ranging from Rs 750 to Rs 1,500 depending on their educational qualification of those who had been registered as unemployed for three consecutive years in the employment exchange office.
Eliciting the chief minister’s attention to the resurgence of the demand being raised by the unemployed for dole, Upadhyay expressed hope for a proactive decision by the chief minister. Pointing out that the Vidhan Sabha slated for 2017 is not far away, Upadhyay stated that the unemployed youth play a major role in either improving or deteriorating the atmosphere during election.
The PCC chief has requested the CM to issue necessary instructions to address the unemployed youths’ demand for resumption of the unemployment allowance payment system.