Cabinet nod to master plan for rehab of 341 disaster-hit villages

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 30

In pursuit of its agenda to hold Cabinet meetings in different parts of the state, Chief Minister Harish Rawat today presided over the second such meeting at Chudiyala village in Haridwar district today.

Among a host of decisions taken, the Cabinet gave nod to the implementation of the Uttar Pradesh State Guidelines (issued in 1997) for giving facilities to former chief ministers, a master plan for rehabilitation of disaster affected 341 villages in the state of which 11 are in Haridwar district, a new scholarship scheme in name of martyr Udham Singh Kamboj to be started from the next academic year and a special Women’s Fund to be established for working women for which a grant of Rs 5 crore was approved. However, the Cabinet decided that for 10 per cent reservation in government jobs for statehood activists, the state government would bring a Bill in the Legisl-ative Assembly.

At Chudiyala village in the Bhagwanpur block, the Cabinet meeting continued till late in the evening after which the CM reviewed Ardh Kumbh fair related works at another meeting.

Finance Minister Indira Hridayesh, Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat, Revenue Minister Yashpal Arya, Health Minister Surendra Singh Negi, Food Minister Pritam Singh, Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal, Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai, Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani, Urban Development Minister Preetam Singh Panwar and Labour Minister Harish Chandra Durgapal attended the meeting.

Women Cong welcomes move

Women’s Congress has welcomed Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s decision to hold a Cabinet meeting at Chudiyala village in the Bhagwanpur assembly segment. Dehradun Women’s Congress president Kamlesh Raman said it was a historical decision by the CM to hold a Cabinet meeting in a village that reiterated his commitment to work for the development of rural areas.  The BJP, on the other hand, believed in opposing the government for the sake of opposition as it was worried about the rising popularity of the Congress-led state government, she added.