PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
In a major initiative aimed at augmenting the income of the local population, the Uttarakhand government has decided to promote bee farming in the fringe areas of the forests of the State. A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the State cabinet held at the State secretariat on Thursday. The cabinet chaired by the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami endorsed the Uttarakhand Forest Margins, Beekeeping Based Livelihood and Human- Elephant Conflict Reduction policy. The secretary Shailesh Bagauli said that the draft of the policy will be prepared by the Forest department. He said that apart from boosting the income of farmers, the policy aims to reduce the menace of wild elephants. The policy assumes significance because 70 per cent of the area of the State is covered with forests and it plans to link the forests with livelihood.
The cabinet also approved a proposal to amend the Uttarakhand Motor Vehicles regulation 2026. Following the amendment the enforcement inspectors and drivers of the Transport department will have a set uniform. Bagauli further informed that the cabinet also approved the proposal to make changes in the process of approval for construction of permanent and temporary nature for the Kumbh Mela 2027 in Haridwar. Now the works up to Rs one crore can be approved by the Mela Officer and the works up to Rs five crore by the Garhwal commissioner. Permission from the State administration will have to be taken for the works above Rs five crores. The cabinet also approved the plan to make District Sainik Kalyan officer as an ex-officio member of the District Legal Services Authority. In another decision, the cabinet endorsed the proposal to increase the royalty on minerals from existing Rs seven per quintal to Rs eight per quintal. The decision to impose six per cent VAT on excise was also taken by the cabinet on the day.
The Uttarakhand Transport department’s proposal to purchase 250 new buses was approved by the State cabinet. Apart from it the cabinet also gave its nod to the department’s request to amend its earlier approval to purchase 100 buses due to decrease in the GST rates. The reduction will help the department to purchase 109 buses.
The cabinet also approved the plan to amend Uttarakhand Subordinate Forest Service Rules, 2016 raising the educational qualification for the post of Forest Inspector from Intermediate to Graduation and age limit to 35 years.
Madarsas running classes I—VIII exempted from UVSP affiliation compulsion
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has accepted the demand of the Muslim community to exempt the Madarsas running I – VIII classes in the State from the compulsion of taking affiliation from the Uttarakhand Vidhyalayi Shiksha Parishad (UVSP). These Madarsas will have to take affiliation from the district level education committee.
A decision in this regard was taken by the State cabinet in its meeting on Thursday. The special secretary Parag Madhukar Dhakate said that now the Madarsas having class IX to XII will have to take afflictions from the UVSP. It is pertinent to mention here that the Uttarakhand government had abolished the State Madarsa Board in February this year. The government set up the Uttarakhand Minority Education Authority for all the minority education institutions. The Authority mandated affiliation of UVSP for all the Madarsas operating in the State. Dhakate said that there are 452 Madarsas in the State and out of them more than 400 Madarsas run classes from I to VIII. The cabinet decision will benefit an estimated 50,000 students studying in these Madarsas.
