State government to provide funds for three religious fairs
LUCKNOW: The state cabinet has decided that the state government will fund the organisation of ‘melas’ (religious fairs) at three ‘shaktipeeths’ (shrines dedicated to Hindu goddesses) in the state, parliamentary affairs and urban development minister Suresh Khanna and energy minister Shrikant Sharma said.
The government will now provide the funds for the ‘melas’ held during Navratri (nine-day period for worship of the goddess Durga and her various forms) at the Lalita Devi temple at Naimisharanya in Sitapur, Pateshwari Devi temple at Tulsipur in Balrampur and Vindhyavasini Devi temple in Mirzapur district.
At present, a sum of Rs 1.38 crore is being spent on these fairs.
These religious fairs held importance beyond the districts in which they were organised, Khanna and Sharma said.
The Uttar Pradesh government also sanctioned over Rs 270.46 crore for various works related to Akharas, infrastructure facilities and others in the Kumbh Mela area ahead of the mega religious gathering in Allahabad in January next year.
The cabinet gave its nod to works worth nearly Rs 5.75 crore related to Akharas and Ashrams in the Kumbh Mela area.
The cabinet also sanctioned Rs 264.71 crore work for con-
struction of pontoon bridges and other works in Kumbh Mela area. About the construction and infrastructure funding for Atal Akhara and Brahm Niwas at Alopi Bagh and Saacha Baba Ashram at Arail, the government made it clear that the land on which construction work was to be carried out was private, owned mostly by Akharas and saints. “However, the government has decided to fund construction and infrastructure development since it is for betterment of the area which would be used by devotees and curious onlookers who are expected in Allahabad for Kumbh,” a government spokesman said.
DISCOUNT ON KHADI
The cabinet also approved a proposal for 5% special discount on retail sales of khadi textile products to mark the 150thbirth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The special discount will remain
effective for 60 days. As khadi institutions are giving 20% discount from their own resources, the total discount will be 25% on khadi products.
FUEL FROM PLASTIC WASTE
The cabinet approved request for proposal and draft concession agreement for setting up a plant to produce fuel from the plastic waste in Lucknow.
The plant will be set up on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and will not put any financial burden on the state government. Besides checking pollution, the plant will help in creating employment opportunities.
MOLASSES POLICY
The state cabinet approved molasses policy for 2018-2019. It decided to bring an ordinance to amend section-8 of Molasses Control Act 1964 to export molas-
ses to far-off countries with certain conditions. The facility will be allowed to registered exporters having valid licence. In such cases, the request for import should be received from diplomatic channels and the list of end users will have to be made available to excise department within three months.
An estimated production of 555 lakh quintal molasses is expected in 2018-2019. This will be 2.5% more than the previous year.
The new policy provides for reservation of 10% molasses for country made liquor and 2.5% molasses for the production of Indian Made Foreign Liquor. The Union government is promoting production of ethanol (for mixing with petrol) from heavy molasses. This may lead to shortage of molasses based spirit for production of IMFL. Under the policy, reservation will not be applicable on heavy molasses.