The State Government has undertaken a slew of schemes for the welfare of the ex-servicemen and efforts are being made to connect them with tourism, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said while addressing the veterans of the armed forces at Narsingh Ground in Ranikhet on Monday.
He said that there is feeling of patriotism and nationalism among the people of Uttarakhand and for the soldiers here, patriotism comes first before anything else.
CM said that his government has started many ambitious schemes for the ex-servicemen and dependents of soldiers. He said that for the brave soldiers and dependents of the martyrs, efforts are being made for providing government job and making cooperative groups at district level. The CM said that in the ‘Home Stay’ scheme which is being operated in the rural areas effort is made to connect the ex-servicemen with tourism. He added that New Pirul (Pine Needle) policy had been brought up to stop forest fires and to make ex-servicemen and youngsters move forward towards self-dependence.
The CM elaborated that anyone with 500 square meter of land can set up a power plant based on Pirul and give employment to 10-12 people. He said that a Kosi-Bhujan water pumping scheme is being setup to address the issue of the drinking water problem in Cantonment range and peripheral areas of Ranikhet and a Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Rs 60 Crore is prepared for the scheme. The army would contribute Rs 13 crores in the project, whereas the rest would be borne by the state government.
Rawat said that to solve the problems of the ex-servicemen, the District Magistrates have been issued instructions. He said that on the lines of Dehradun, a hostel will be built in Haldwani with support of the army, for the children of soldiers and their dependents.
The Mussoorie MlA Ganesh Joshi exhorted the armed forces veterans to take advantage of the schemes being run by the state government.