Uttarakhand

• 22 May 2023

The state will soon get Cyber Forensic Lab

Why in News?

According to the information received from the media on 19 May 2023, the Uttarakhand Police will no longer have to depend on the Central Forensic Lab or the labs of other states for investigation in cyber crimes. Soon the state will get its own forensic lab.

Key Points:

• According to the information, the Central Government has approved a budget of Rs 4 crore. of this, Rs 1.25 crore has also been released as a limit.
• It is known that cyber crimes are increasing continuously. At present, Uttarakhand has the fifth place in the country, where the maximum number of cyber crimes are registered. In many cases, computers, mobiles and other items are sent to the Central Forensic Lab, Chandigarh, for forensic examination.
• The Chandigarh Lab has priority to investigate cases of the Chandigarh Police. After this, he gives preference to Punjab and Haryana Police. In such a situation, the police number of Uttarakhand or other states comes much later.
• According to the police officers, sometimes the investigation of the cases is also affected due to delays in the investigation reports. There is also pressure to submit the investigation report in court. In such a situation, a proposal was sent last year to set up a cyber forensic lab.

90% of Eco-Tourism Earnings will be spent on the Local Community

Why in News?

On 18 May 2023, the Uttarakhand cabinet approved the proposal for revenue sharing in eco-tourism activities. Under this, 90 % of the income from eco-tourism in Uttarakhand will be spent at the local level.

Key Points:

• Under the proposal passed by the cabinet, 10 % of the earnings in the first year from the fees charged for various items (entrance fee, adventure activities, parking, stay facilities, camping) in new eco-tourism destinations in forest areas outside the protected areas and in the coming years, 20 % will be deposited in the account of the government.
• Organizations & committees formed at the local level for conducting tourism activities will be able to spend this money on the maintenance of tourist places and other items.
• This system will remain in force till the first year, while from the second year onwards 20 % of the earnings will go to the government and 80 % to the local community.
• Apart from this, for such eco-tourism destinations, whose income exceeds Rs 5 crore after a time, then the additional amount will be deposited in the state fund. Regarding already operated eco-tourism destinations, 20 % will be deposited in the treasury, while 80 % will remain with the local bodies for their maintenance etc.
• Three awards will also be given to the districts which have done excellent work in developing eco-tourism destinations. Rs 1 crore will be given as the first prize, Rs 75 lakh for the second and Rs 50 lakh for the third prize.
• The districts will use this prize money to take forward other activities of eco-tourism. The district which comes first will not be considered for this award for the next three years.
• It may be noted that the Uttarakhand Eco-Tourism Development Corporation was established in 2016 under the Companies Act, of 2013. Under this, a proposal for revenue sharing has now been passed.