PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
In a major decision aimed at encouraging voluntary land consolidation in the mountainous areas, the State government has decided to implement the Voluntary/Partial Land Consolidation Promotion policy for the mountainous areas of Uttarakhand- 2026. The policy was approved by the State cabinet in its meeting held at the State secretariat on Wednesday.
The policy will be implemented in the 11 mountainous districts of the State and land consolidation work will be completed in five villages in every district in one year. The government intends to complete land consolidation in 275 mountainous districts in the next five years.
Informing about the cabinet decision, the secretary Shailesh Bagauli said that only villages that are completely free from any land disputes will be selected for land consolidation. Furthermore, the minimum total land area of the consolidation area must be 10.00 hectares. In the case of a smaller area, the written consent of at least 25 account holders will be mandatory.
Under this policy, landowners will create consolidation plans through mutual consent. Bagauli said that for transparent implementation, monitoring and review of the policy, a High Power Committee (HPC) at the State level and an Implementation Committee at the district level have been constituted.
The objective of land consolidation is to convert farmers’ scattered land into a single large plot. The consolidation process reduces the number of farms and makes agricultural work much easier. The biggest benefit is that various types of disputes between farmers are reduced.
In another important decision, the cabinet approved the Uttarakhand Minority Educational Institutions Recognition Rules, 2026 to effectively implement the Uttarakhand Minority Education Act. The new rules provide for the online management of the educational development of minority (Muslim, Jain, Christian, Buddhist, Parsi and Sikh) communities in the State. It also includes the processes of recognition, renewal and termination of recognition for new institutions.
The cabinet approved renaming of Centre for Aromatic Plant (CAP) at Selaqui in Dehradun as Perfumery and Aromatic Research and Development Institute (PARDI).
In another decision, the cabinet approved the proposal to do away with the clause which requires the consent of the chief minister and health minister for appointment of contractual faculty members in the government medical colleges of the State. The Health secretary will now give the necessary approval. The decision to restructure the Medical Education directorate was also taken in the meeting.
The cabinet approved the provision of equal pay for equal work to a total of 277 contractual workers working in the Government Medical College, Srinagar from the year 2009.
