UPNL workers appointed before Oct 15, 2024 to get equal pay for equal work benefit

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun

 In a major decision which will benefit more than 10,000 Uttarakhand Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam Limited (UPNL) workers deployed in different government offices, the State government has amended the cut-off date for the equal pay for equal work order. A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the State cabinet chaired by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday. Pertinently, after a long legal battle, the Uttarakhand High Court had directed the State government to give the benefit of equal pay for equal work to the UPNL workers. The State government had earlier set a cut-off date of November 12, 2018 for giving the benefit which the State cabinet on Thursday amended to October 15, 2024. It means that now all the UPNL workers who were appointed before the above mentioned cut-off date will be eligible for benefit of equal pay for equal work. More than 21000 UPNL workers of the State are now beneficiaries of the equal pay for equal work decision. 

Informing about the cabinet decisions, the additional secretary to the CM, Banshidhar Tiwari said that the cabinet also approved the proposal according which 20 per cent of the insurance premium of the horses and mules on the Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Hemkund Sahib Yatra bridle routes will be given by the State government. The remaining 80 per cent amount of the insurance premium will be borne by the animal owners. Under this scheme, an estimated 15,000 registered horses and mules will be covered for the Yatra of the year 2026. The State government will bear the financial burden of Rs 1.05 crore under the scheme.

The cabinet also endorsed the proposal for price adjustment in the contracts for bitumen works in view of the steep increase in the prices of bitumen.  The Middle East situation has resulted in a hike in the prices of crude oil due to which the prices of bitumen have also increased by more than 30 per cent. To counter the consent to issue guidelines regarding price adjustment for bituminous works only for the period from May 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026.

In another decision, the cabinet approved the proposal to create five posts of specialists for the constitution of a Project Management Unit (PMU) for the operation of the state-of-the-art Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) machine at Aromatic Plant Centre, Selaqui. The PMU will check adulteration in aromatic oils/products under the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES). Tiwari informed that the cabinet approved the proposal of the Tourism department to organize an International Himalayan Car Rally.

The cabinet  also gave its consent for the promulgation of ‘Uttarakhand Prison (amendment) Rules, 2026 for the habitual offenders sentenced to imprisonment for a period of substantive term on at least three separate occasions for any one or the other offence mentioned in the schedule of the Uttar Pradesh Habitual Offenders Prevention Act, 1952. The cabinet also approved the proposal to create 14 posts of jail superintendent by promulgation of Uttarakhand Prisons and Jailor Subordinate (Gazetted) Service Rules, 2026.

In another decision, the cabinet approved the plan to provide financial assistance to the Health department for payment of pending bills in various hospitals under the State Government Health Scheme (Golden Card).