Dhami Cabinet approves 12 proposals
By Arun Pratap SinghGarhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 12 Nov: A meeting of the Uttarakhand Cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami here, today, and it approved a total of twelve proposals, including the decision on setting up of a sub-committee to determine the minimum pay scale and Dearness Allowance (DA) for UPNL personnel. The CM has been authorised to constitute this committee, which will be given two months to finalise its recommendations once it is formed. The decision comes in the wake of continuing protests by UPNL workers pressing for improved pay and service conditions.
It may be recalled that UPNL employees are currently on strike in the state in pursuit of their demand for regularisation of their services.
A Cabinet Sub-Committee will be set up to examine the Uttarakhand High Court’s directives concerning the regularisation of employees engaged on daily wages, work-charge, contract, fixed pay, part-time, and ad-hoc basis. The committee will also decide upon a future cut-off date for such regularisation.
In a related decision, the Cabinet also approved amendments to the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of UPNL to include provisions for overseas employment and income tax-related compliance. The government claims that this would expand the agency’s (UPNL’s) role for ex-servicemen, their dependants, and young aspirants seeking employment abroad.
In another significant decision, the Cabinet cleared a proposal on creation of a Public Health Project Management Unit under the Urban Development Directorate to ensure effective implementation and supervision of public health programmes in urban local bodies under the 15th Finance Commission. The new unit will monitor the work of Municipal Health Officers, manage funds received from Central and State Finance Commissions, provide trained human resources, and oversee various urban health schemes. It will also include new posts such as a Senior Medical Officer, Financial Controller, MIS Expert, and Assistant Accountant to strengthen the system.
The cabinet further approved amendments to the Uttarakhand Procurement Rules, 2025. It was stated that, until now, only Bank Guarantees and Fixed Deposit Receipts were accepted as bid security for tenders. Following the latest Central Government guidelines, Insurance Security Bonds will now also be valid as bid security instruments as per the amendments approved today by the cabinet. In addition, the Finance Department was also granted approval for the creation of one vehicle driver post on an outsourcing basis for the Directorate of Budget, Fiscal Planning and Resources.
The Cabinet also sanctioned the creation of new posts under the Prison Administration and Reform Service Department for the formation of an Information Technology Wing. These include two Computer Programmers and two Assistant Computer Operators to modernise record management and digital administration within the department.
In an important decision, the Cabinet approved a proposal for a hike in the compensation provided to those affected by recent natural disasters in Dharali and other parts of the state. The ex-gratia amount for the families of deceased victims has been raised from Rs 4 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs, while compensation for damaged pucca houses will also be Rs 5 lakhs. For partially or fully damaged kaccha houses, an additional amount of Rs 1 lakh will be provided from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, in addition to assistance under the disaster head. Compensation for commercial establishments will be decided on a case-to-case basis after assessment.
Regarding a proposal related to the horticulture sector, the Cabinet approved utilisation of funds from the state-sector “Madhugram Yojana” to meet the 40 per cent Central share required under the Centrally Sponsored Horticulture Mission Scheme. The pending dues of Rs 29.40 lakhs for the financial years 2021–22 and 2022–23 will be paid to supplier firms from the Madhugram Yojana allocation in the 2025–26 financial year.
The Cabinet also granted in principle approval to the “Devbhoomi Parivar Yojana”, aimed at identifying all the families residing in Uttarakhand and issuing them a unique Family Identification Number. The scheme will link each family to government welfare and public benefit schemes to ensure that every eligible household receives its due benefits directly. The database thus created will help integrate and monitor all government schemes through a unified digital system. Beneficiary families will be able to view with a single click all schemes for which they are eligible, along with details of the benefits already received and those pending.
The Cabinet also recommended that the Special Session of the Fifth Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly for 2025 which was convened from 3 to 5 November in Dehradun, be prorogued.
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