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Uttarakhand cabinet approves building 2-storey structures in Kedarnath Dham area
The reconstruction project in the Kedarnath Dham area has been a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the aftermath of the devastation caused by the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy
The Uttarakhand cabinet on Wednesday gave approval to the proposal of allowing construction of two-storey structures in Kedarnath Dham area, citing the paucity of space in the area.
This decision was taken in the cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Dehradun on Wednesday. After the meeting, chief secretary SS Sandhu shared details of the cabinet decisions.
Sandhu said given the shortage of space under the construction work in Kedarnath Dham area, permission has been given for the expansion of one-storey structure to two storey structure. “For this, the same contractor will be authorised who has constructed the first floor,” he said.
In the aftermath of the devastation caused by the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy, the reconstruction project in the Kedarnath Dham area has been a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A total allocation of over ₹500 crore has been approved and the allocated money will be spent in phases for reconstruction and development works. The Prime Minister has been keenly following the development and reconstruction works at Kedarnath. In October 2017, PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones of five major reconstruction projects at Kedarnath shrine, which included improving facilities for devotees, construction of retaining walls and ghats at the Mandakini and Saraswati rivers, an approach road to the shrine and reconstruction of the Samadhi Sthal of Adi Shankaracharya, an early eighth-century seer and the founder of the Vedanta school of philosophy who died at Kedarnath.
Sandhu said the cabinet also accorded approval to include health and sanitation subject in the syllabus of Classes 1 to 12 under the education department.
For doubling the income of Uttarakhand in five years, the cabinet also decided to seek reports from various departments and appoint an international-level consultancy agency.
The cabinet also gave an extension of six months according to the terms and conditions on the date of appointments to 1,662 temporary personnel recruited during the Covid-19 lockdown in the medical department, whose services had expired.
Sandhu said the cabinet also decided that the departments will have to take consent from the railway ministry for any construction work near railway tracks so that the track is not damaged in any way. The railway manual has been adapted for this, he added.
The cabinet also decided that the caution money not claimed by students for one year under the student fund rules in the higher education department can be spent on the development of the college.
In view of the suggestion sought in the Expression of Interest to run Sitarganj Sugar Mill in public-private partnership (PPP) mode, the cabinet also decided to reduce the security amount of the total investment from 5% to 2% and the earnest money from 1% to 0.25%.
The cabinet decided that in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court, relaxation will be given in the service manual for the promotion of seven Sangrah Amins (collection revenue officials) to the post of Naib Tehsildar under the revenue department.
The cabinet also decided to accept the format of central government, under the housing department, to protect the rights of the buyers under the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and Uttarakhand Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules 2022.
The cabinet also gave nod to the appointment of 24 candidates who had been selected earlier in the State Road Transport Corporation but were not given appointment in view of the bad financial condition of the Corporation.
Other decisions taken in the cabinet meeting included removal of 19 revenue villages from Jaspur tehsil and their inclusion in Kashipur tehsil, formation of a new Transport Tax Service Manual under the Transport Department and creation of 70 posts for Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA ) project worth ₹ 526 crore under the horticulture department. It has also been decided that under the department of justice, civil judge junior division will be known as civil judge and civil judge senior division will be known as senior civil judge.
