Many Important Decisions Taken by Uttarakhand Cabinet Including Approval of New Hydro Power Policy | 21 Dec 2022

Why In News?

  • In the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on December 20, 2022 at the Uttarakhand Secretariat, 20 proposals including the new hydro power policy were approved.

Key Points

  • With the approval of the new hydro power policy in the cabinet meeting, it has become easier to exploit the potential of about 20 thousand MW of electricity generation from the rivers, drains and skins of the state. The policy has been formulated in line with the Hydroelectric Policy 2022 of Himachal Pradesh.
  • With this policy, new investors in the state will have to pay only one lakh rupees development fee instead of Rs 25 lakh, while old stalled schemes can be transferred to other companies. Construction work will be done only with the materials released during the excavation of the project, stone crushers will also be installed.
  • The duration of the project will be considered by its operation. All projects up to 25 MW will have to be mandatorily power purchase agreement (PPP) by UPCL.
  • Some other important decisions taken by the state cabinet are:
    • Cabinet approves Uttarakhand Logistics Policy 2022 for carrying out industrial products. This will strengthen new and existing logistics infrastructure such as warehouses, inland container depots (ICDs), cold storages, industrial estates, rail-road connectivity to clusters. Economic relations between mountain-plains will be strengthened. The road to building a warehouse will be easy.
    • Prisoners will now be able to get 15 days parole from the dm level for the illness, death and marriage of the son and daughter. Earlier, the Divisional Commissioner had this right. For this, the cabinet approved the Uttarakhand (Suspension of Sentence of Detainees, Amendment) Rules.
    • Free textbooks will be provided to all class students of 9th to 12th class in government and non-government colleges of the state in the coming financial year 2023-24. Its plan has been approved by the cabinet. This will benefit about one lakh students.
    • It has also been decided to give 25 percent discount on stamp duty charge of Rs 25 lakh to disabled persons on the lines of women on the purchase of immovable property, plots and houses etc. This discount will be available only twice in a lifetime.
    • University of Engineering and Technology Roorkee to be renamed as core university.
    • 20 State Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will be upgraded as per the need and interest of industries.
    • Under the Special Assistance Scheme for Capital Investment for the States, the Transport Department will be able to get financial assistance on some improvements. Under this, the exemption on motor vehicle tax was increased from 50 to 75 percent for city buses and 75 percent for buses operated in mountainous areas of the transport corporation.
    • On the lines of Uttar Pradesh, the Uttarakhand government has also done away with the condition of land use change in rail land development. Local bodies and authorities will work in coordination in rail development plans.
    • Only L&T tender has come in e-tender for works worth Rs 3358.75 crore under Lakhwad Multipurpose Project, permission to open it.
    • Approval of Uttarakhand Industrial Relations Rules 2022 under Industrial Relations Code 2020. In this, provisions have been made mainly in relation to simplification of business and giving favourable environment to industries, as well as giving employee benefits in a time-bound manner.
    • Approval of Uttarakhand Revenue Council Section Officer, Assistant Revenue Commissioner (Administrative) and Deputy Revenue Commissioner (Administrative) Service Rules 2022.
    • On the lines of Badrinath and Kedarnath Dham, master plans will also be made for Jageshwar Dham in Almora and Mahasu Devta in Dehradun.
    • Cabinet approves prorogation of Uttarakhand assembly session.