CM Rawat, ministers remove red beacons from their cars

Tribune News Service 

Dehradun, April 20 

Well ahead of the May 1 deadline when a ban on the use of red beacons atop vehicles will be effective, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat removed the red beacon from his official car this morning. 

As soon as the news spread about the Chief Minister’s decision, other Cabinet ministers too followed suit. “I am against the VIP culture and fully support our Prime Minister’s and Chief Minister’s decision,” said Prakash Pant, Uttarakhand Parliamentary Affairs Minister. He had removed the red beacon yesterday. 

Now all nine Cabinet ministers, including the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly Speaker, have also opted to remove the red beacons from their official vehicles.

Also, the Trivendra Singh-led BJP government is also planning to bring in a proposal in the Cabinet doing away with 21 red beacons (equipped with flashers) meant for the Governor, the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, the Chief Minister, the Speaker of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, Cabinet ministers and the Leader of the Opposition. 

Other normal seven red beacons assigned to the Deputy Speaker of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, the Chief Secretary (Uttarakhand), the Chairman of the UPSC, the Attorney-General of Uttarakhand, Chairman of SC and ST Commission and State Election Commissioner too will be done away with.

“The proposal recommending the removal of red beacons will come up in the upcoming Cabinet meeting,” said Prakash Pant, Minister for Parliamentary affairs. 

Beside the red beacons, blue beacons are also used by officials such as the Additional Chief Secretary, the Commissioner, Income Tax, etc.

Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, Horticulture Minister Subodh Uniyal, Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik, Social Welfare Minister Yashpal Arya, Forest and Environment Minister Harak Singh Rawat, State Minister for Higher Education Dhan Singh Rawat and Uttarakhand State Minister for Women Empowerment Rekha Arya have also opted to remove the red beacons from their vehicles. Besides, Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly Speaker Prem Chand Aggarwal also removed the red beacon from his car.