Project will be on lines of Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi & Mahakal corridor in Ujjain
Friday, 04 AUGUST 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Taking inspiration from the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi and Mahakal corridor in Ujjain city the Uttarakhand government has prepared a major plan to reorganise and redevelop the religious cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh. The project will be conceived within next six months and will be completed in two years.
A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the State cabinet presided over by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at the secretariat on Thursday afternoon. Informing about the decision the chief secretary SS Sandhu said that a master plan will be prepared for the project which will include the core areas of the two cities. He said that a high power steering committee headed by CS has also been set up for the purpose. Sandhu said that Haridwar-Rishikesh Redevelopment Company Limited (HRRDCL) will be set up as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the project. Sandhu said that a large number of pilgrims visit Haridwar and Rishikesh every year and the objective of the project is to develop facilities in these cities.
A total of 30 issues came up for discussion in the meeting of the cabinet chaired by the chief minister. In another decision the cabinet approved the new drone policy for the State. Secretary Shailesh Bagauli informed that the policy will help in encouraging training, services and manufacturing of drones in the State. He said that drones technology is the emerging field and holds vast potential. Under the new policy subsidy will be given in setting up drone manufacturing units and drone schools in the State. Apart from this subsidy and reimbursement of SGST will be provided in the usage of drone enabled services in the State.
The cabinet also approved a proposal to change the recruitment norms for principals of government (graduate level) colleges of the State. Bagauli informed that 25 per cent posts of college principals will be filled by direct recruitment. Associate professors with 15 years of teaching experience will be eligible to apply for the post.
In an important decision the State cabinet approved a proposal to make changes in the Hydropower policy. Sandhu said that as per the new plan the affected families of any hydropower project will be given more compensation. He said that under the new policy the hydropower company will have to spend one per cent of the project cost on development of the area. Apart from this the company will have to provide 13 per cent of the power generated free of cost to the State (earlier this was 12 per cent) and money equivalent to one per cent of the power generated will be given to the affected families for the entire period of the project.
The cabinet also gave its nod to the proposal to use the muck generated from the digging of tunnels in Rishikesh- Karnprayag rail project in preventing the large-scale erosion in the Ghildiyal village of Tehri district. The organisational set up of the Provincial Police Services (PPS) will be restructured. Sandhu said that 13 new posts of PPS will be created in the Police department. For smooth conduction of the 38th national games proposed to be held in the State, the cabinet approved the proposal to set up a high power committee headed by CS.
The cabinet also approved the plan to adopt the successful Karnataka model in operation of the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) of the State. As per the proposal the Tata Technology Private Limited company will adopt all the 13 ITIs of the State. The company will start the latest and emerging courses in these institutes.
In another decision the cabinet made it mandatory that all marriages in the State will be registered. The marriages solemnised under the Anand marriage act of Sikhs will be registered in the State now.
