Dehradun: A cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday approved a total of 19 proposals. The Uttarakhand government primarily approved the Public Trust Planning Act. Under this, imprisonment for minor offenses will be abolished, with only fines being imposed. The compensation amount for landowners during transmission and power line construction has also been increased.
Key Points from the Cabinet Meeting:
1. Pitkul agreed to adopt the Government of India’s 2024 “Interstate Transmission Line Construction” compensation for its projects. Landowners previously received 85% of the circle rate for land where power towers are constructed. This has been increased to double the circle rate. For transmission lines passing over fields, landowners were previously compensated 15% of the circle rate. This has been increased to 30, 45, and 60 percent.
2. Imprisonment for minor offenses should be replaced with a fine. The Public Trust Planning Act has been approved for this purpose. Seven acts have been included in the first phase.
3. The Government of India had suggested additional FIRs to promote green buildings. Under this initiative, the Uttarakhand government has also made provisions to promote green buildings.
4. The restriction on ground coverage in commercial areas has been lifted.
5. Eco-resorts could be built on agricultural land, but resorts were not permitted on this land. Therefore, now, along with eco-resorts, resorts can also be built on agricultural land. Previously, a land use change was required to build a resort on agricultural land.
6. The height of parking floors built at road level will not be counted towards the height of the entire building. The provision of roadside motels has been abolished.
7. The Town Planning Scheme and Land Pooling Scheme were approved.
8. The Uttarakhand Goods and Services Tax Amendment Ordinance was approved.
9. Recruitment to the Technical University will now be done at the university level instead of the Public Service Commission.
10. Recruitment to the post of Junior Engineer in the Public Works Department (PWD) was previously done through promotion of employees posted in Group C positions. However, better candidates were not available. Therefore, those with 10 years of service and a diploma will be promoted to the post of Junior Engineer.
11. The Naini Saini Airport MoU with the Airport Authority of India was approved through a deviation. It has now received Cabinet approval.
12. Rules were made in 2025 for the regularization of leased land allotted to affected people in Kalyanpur, Sitarganj. The circle rate was set at 2016. Therefore, it has been decided to apply the 2004 circle rate.
13. The Chief Minister Ghasyari Kalyan Yojana is being implemented in the Cooperative Department and the Silage and Animal Nutrition Scheme in the Dairy Department. Consequently, the subsidy provided to farmers under these two schemes has been reduced to 60 percent, compared to 75 percent previously.
14. Regarding the construction of the Rispana and Bindal elevated roads in Dehradun, a request was sent by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to the Government of India for exemption on royalty and GST. The Uttarakhand government has decided that the construction agency will initially deposit the royalty and GST, but the same will be refunded later by the Finance Department. Approximately ₹46 crore in royalty and ₹575 crore in GST will be exempted.
15. The Aromatic Plant Centre has been renamed the Perfumery and Fragrance Research Institute.
16. A 50 percent exemption on motor vehicle tax will be granted for scrapping vehicles older than 15 years, a proposal approved by the Cabinet. Upon doing so, the state government will receive special central assistance of ₹50 crore from the central government.
17. The Chief Minister’s Youth Future Construction Scheme was approved under the Higher Education Department. Online coaching will be provided. An institution will be selected for this.
18. The Chief Minister’s Youth Future Construction Scheme was approved under the Secondary Education Department. Students studying in grades 11 and 12 will be prepared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
19. The Indian Civil Defence Code 2023 provides for the establishment of a Directorate of Prosecution, which the Cabinet has approved. A district-level Directorate has also been approved.
