U’khand Guv lists govt achievements
DEHRADUN: In the first session of Uttarakhand’s fifth legislative assembly, Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retd) on Tuesday listed achievements of the state government in various domains and highlighted progress made on various fronts.
Lt Gen Singh said in the education sector, many innovative measures have been taken and money was being deposited in accounts of students for the procurement of tablets.
He said online classes have been started in the state for which good internet connectivity was being provided and in the domain of technical education, a new curriculum has been proposed in line with the latest demands of the industry.
The governor said children up to 21 years of age who have lost parents during the COVID pandemic are being provided ₹3,000 every month. He said pension was being provided in the state to various sections like elderly people and physically challenged people. He said for physically challenged people in the state a Divyang Advisory Board has been constituted.
The governor said a Sainya Dham was being built in Dehradun for which Shaheed Samman Yatra was held to collect soil from the native places of soldiers killed in action. He said the pension of ex-servicemen and widows of ex-servicemen from World War 2 has been increased from ₹8,000 to ₹10,000.
Lt Gen Singh said during the last four years, over 7 crore saplings have been planted in the state as the forest cover in the state has increased by 8 sqkm. He said to promote the use of electric vehicles, incentive money was being provided for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
The governor said efforts have been made to provide employment avenues to the unemployed youth of the state. He said after the COVID epidemic started in the state and many people returned to the state, Mukyamantri Swarozgar Yojana was started in the state for creating employment avenues for such people.
He also spoke about recruitment being made against vacancies in various departments and agencies in the state.
The governor said for improving internet connectivity in the state, 4G, 5G and high-speed internet have been proposed in the state. He said ropeways projects are also being developed to improve connectivity in the state. The highlight of the first session was that the Congress was yet to decide who will be the leader of opposition in the House and cabinet ministers were still without their portfolios.
After the governor’s address, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami tabled ₹21,116 crore vote on account budget in the House for the next four months. He said the money allocated for all the previous schemes of the government which are going on will come from the vote on account budget. Dhami said the state government is committed to fulfil the promises and resolutions made to the people of the state along with the resolutions of the Governor’s address. The decision has been taken by the state cabinet regarding the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the state.
“We have promised to provide three gas cylinders free of cost to the poor mothers and sisters of the state, besides fulfilling all the promises we have made to the public regarding employment generation. They will be fulfilled,” he said.
The chief minister said he was confident that the vote on account presented will give impetus to the development of the state. “In the near future, we will come up with a full budget, in which according to the hopes and aspirations of the people...”