U’khand sets up dedicated cell for retired Agniveers, withdraws Green Cess exemption to CNG vehicles – myuttarakhandnews.com | Uttarakhand News in English | Dehradun News Today| News Uttarakhand | Uttarakhand latest news

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun  With the approval of the State cabinet for setting up a dedicated cell for retired Agniveers, Uttarakhand became the first State in the country which will have a dedicated framework for rehabilitation of Agniveers. The State cabinet in its meeting held at the State secretariat on Tuesday approved the proposal of the Soldier Welfare department to create six posts in the dedicated Agniveer cell. Informing about the cabinet decision, director general Information Banshidhar Tiwari said that one post of deputy director, two posts of assistant director, two posts of junior assistant and one data entry operator will be created in the Agniveer cell. In view of the adverse impact on the revenue of the State due to popularity and sale of a large number of CNG vehicles, the State cabinet approved the proposal to abolish the exemption given to these vehicles from green cess. A proposal for the formation of Uttarakhand Medical Supplies Corporation for timely and transparent procurement of medicines, surgical materials, chemicals, equipment and implants was also approved by the State cabinet in its meeting. The cabinet also approved the proposal to lease one acre of the 65 acres of land located at the Government Medical College, Haridwar, to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi for setting its branch in Uttarakhand. Tiwari said that the NCDC branch will enhance the State’s capacity and efficiency for disease surveillance, investigation of outbreaks and rapid response to outbreaks. In another decision, the cabinet approved the proposal to create regulation for Uttarakhand Lokayukt Search Committee 2026. Tiwari said that rules are to be prepared for the purpose of determining the tenure of the Search Committee, allowances payable to its members and the manner of selection of the panel of names for the post of Chairman and Member of the Lokayukt institution. The proposal to promulgate ‘Uttarakhand Population Survey and Record Operation Regulation- 2026’ for surveying the land in the populated areas recorded in the revenue records by using modern methods was also cleared by the State cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday. The proposal to allocate 116 houses constructed in Kathbangla to selected families residing in the slum along the Rispana River near was also approved by cabinet. The cabinet also removed the necessity of payment of 10 per cent of total cost of the house by the allotted family. In another important decision affecting thousands of UPNL workers, the cabinet approved the proposal according to which the benefit of equal pay for equal work will be provided to the UPNL employees in three phases. In the first phase, currently in progress, the benefit will be provided to workers appointed before January 01, 2016. In the second phase, the employees employed till November11, 2018 and in the third phase, the employees appointed till October 15, 2024 will be considered for providing benefit of equal work equal pay. The cabinet also waived off the service discontinuation break for the employee currently working for extending the above mentioned benefit. U’khand to purchase power from Adani Power Ltd DEHRADUN:Uttarakhand will procure coal based power from Adani Power Limited for a period of 25 years at a tariff of Rs 5.746 per unit. A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the State cabinet on Tuesday. The APL will set up a 1,320 MW coal based power station in Chhattisgarh  and will use the coal extracted from the coal block allotted to Uttarakhand in Chhattisgarh.  The cabinet authorised the Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) to sign the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) and other related documents with APL to fulfil the necessary conditions and obtain statutory approvals from the Union Territory Regulatory Commission (UERC) for the purchase of the power. Dhami Cabinet approves new Cooperative policy DEHRADUN: The State cabinet in its meeting on Tuesday approved the Uttarakhand State Cooperative Policy-2026. This policy aims to strengthen cooperative-based rural development, local entrepreneurship, and employment generation.Cabinet minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the new policy is focused on seven key strategic pillars: strengthening the foundation of cooperatives, the vitality of cooperative institutions, future-readiness, inclusiveness and expanding reach, entering new and emerging sectors, engaging younger generations with cooperatives and economic viability and diversification. He said that under the new policy, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) will not be limited to just loan-providing institutions, but will be developed as multipurpose, self-reliant and commercial rural economic centres.  Rawat claimed that the policy aims to encourage women’s cooperatives in every district, connect self-help groups with institutional credit and markets and develop cooperative start-ups, internships, skill development and entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for youth. The minister said that the new policy will be implemented in three phases from 2026 to 2036.