Uttarakhand

• 21 Dec 2022

Uttarakhand State Parking (Site Selection, Construction and Operation etc.) Rules, 2022

Why In News?

• On December 20, 2022, the Uttarakhand Cabinet approved the Uttarakhand State Parking (Site Selection, Construction and Operation etc.) Rules, 2022 to overcome the problem of parking in the state.

Key Points

• Under the Uttarakhand State Parking (Site Selection, Construction and Operation etc.) Rules, 2022, open parking will now be made on agricultural land in the state. For this, there will be no need to change the land use nor any other government hurdles.
• Under this policy, parking will be constructed in four categories. Parking will be built on government land from the government level. Any person will be able to build parking on private lands. Private developers will also be able to build parking on government land, while on private lands, the government will be able to build parking.
• Those who build parking lots in the state will get electricity rebate at the rate of one rupee per unit for five years. The government will not charge them sub-divisional charge or development charge. Local youth will also be able to construct parking by taking a loan under The Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Tourism Self Employment Scheme.
• If a hotel, restaurant, hospital or college builds its own parking elsewhere, then it will have to follow the rules and keep a part of that parking for public parking, so that people coming from outside can park vehicles here.
• A committee will be formed under the chairmanship of the Vice Chairman of the concerned Development Authority for the selection of parking lots in all the cities in the state and the tariff charged there. This committee will include the Superintendent of Police or his nominated member, representative of the Town Planning Department, Additional District Magistrate Administration, Chief Municipal Officer or Executive Officer from the local body, Traffic Inspector, Fire Officer.
• It is noteworthy that due to lack of adequate parking in the tourist season in the state, there are long jams at tourist places like Mussoorie and Nainital. People either return or somehow move forward after struggling with the jam for hours. After the parking policy comes, there will be so much parking that people will not have trouble parking their vehicles.
• It is known that the number of vehicles is increasing at the rate of about 300 percent in the state. At the time of formation of the state, there were three lakh 63 thousand 916 vehicles, which has now increased to about 28 lakh 80 thousand 520. The number of private vehicles is more than 26 lakh.

Many Important Decisions Taken by Uttarakhand Cabinet Including Approval of New Hydro Power Policy

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 9^th to 12^th 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.

National Water Sports Competition First Time in Tehri Lake

Why In News?

• On December 20, 2022, R.K. Vishnoi, President and Director of THDC India Limited, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand informed that under the technical supervision of the Government of India and the Indian Olympic Association, Uttarakhand Olympic Association and ITBP, the Tehri Lake in the state from December 28 to 30 National Level Canoeing and Kayaking Competition will be organized.

Key Points

• R.K. Vishnoi informed that for the first time in this national level water sports competition, Asian Championship and Olympic Qualifying fourth ranking and Canoe (Dongi) Sprint Senior Men and Women Championship will have all the matches.
• In this three-day competition, 300 players from 17 states of the country, including 200 male and 100 female players, have registered.
• It is noteworthy that after about eight years, the canoeing and kayaking competition is being organized at an altitude of 840 meters above sea level.
• On the inspiration of Government of India, THDC India Limited is going to organize Tehri Water Sports Cup to promote Canoeing and Kayaking.
• Vishnoi said that holding of national level water sports competition in Uttarakhand will increase the interest of tourists and sportspersons. Tehri Lake has immense possibilities of water sports.
• If water sports activities will increase in Tehri Lake and rivers, then surely the youth will get employment. THDCIL is also working on a plan to train youth for water sports players and related jobs after the competition.
• AN Tripathi, Additional General Manager, Corporate Communications Department, THDCIL, said that earlier a canoeing and kayaking competition was organized at the same height in Kashmir. In Himachal too such competitions are held in high altitude areas.