Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat hoisted the national flag on the occasion of 72nd Independence Day celebrations main function at Parade Ground at Dehradun, today. Paying tributes to the freedom fighters, Chief Minister said that country has got independence after many struggles and sacrifices. He said that the brave the soldiers of the army has also made sacrifices to maintain the independence of the country. Giving an example of Sawad village of Chamoli district, Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand is not only a ‘Devbhoomi’ but a ‘Veerbhoomi’ also as atleast one person from each family of the village is serving the country in the army or para-military forces. He said that the state government has appointed an ADM level officer as nodal officers to solve the problems of soldiers. He further said that one family member each of those soldiers of army and paramilitary who sacrificed their lives is being taken into government service based on their educational qualifications. The Bhairavgarhi water scheme has been sanctioned to solve the drinking water problem of Garhwal Rifles Centre at Lansdown. A similar water scheme fort Ranikhet has also been sanctioned.
In his address giving details of the government schemes in different sectors, Chief Minister said that in the first phase to develop organic farming, 3900 clusters would be chosen in 78 thousand hectares of land benefitting 1.95 lakh farmers. A total of 550 farm machinery banks will be established in 2018-19 from where farmers can get equipment on cheap rent. An Organic Agriculture Act will be implemented in the state soon. All the farmers in the state will also get Soil health card so that they can use fertilizer as per the need after soil testing. A revolving fund of Rs. Ten crore is being established to buy organic products from farmers directly and sell them to buyers through Mandi Parishads. This fund could be raised to ten times as per the requirement. With an aim to double the income of farmers, micro planning at district level will be done.
Chief Minister said that a Medicity with international level modern health facilities will be established so that the people of state can get better health care facilities. All kind of modern health equipment and facilities of all kinds of diagnosis will be available in the proposed medicity.
Chief Minister said that under ‘Ayushman Bharat-Ayushman Uttarakhand” scheme all the families in the state will be given health cover. Each family will get facility to get Rs. 5 lakh for medical cover. He said that Doiwala sugar mill be modernized. A solar floating project will be launched in Tehri lake. Women groups will get good remuneration for ‘PIrul’ collection and power produced from ‘Pirul’ will be sold at good rates to enhance the income of farmers and women. This year is being celebrated as “Year of Employment” and efforts will be made to provide self-employment to maximum number of people.
Chief Minister said that the tendency to go on strike in the state has to be curbed and Uttarakhand can not be allowed to be turned into a “Hartal Pradesh”. He said that a white paper on the prevailing condition of education in the state will brought out and schools which are deserted will be run on PPP mode. Terming the drop in the number of students in government schools as alarming, Chief Minister said that there is need to look into it and the teachers have to take it seriously. He said that schools should be centres of education rather than being centre of business and employment. A mobile app has been developed with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC) to ensure regular attendance of teachers and students. This app will also help in the conduct of monthly examinations conducted by the schools.
Chief Minister said that 700 villages in the state are completely deserted and the land is getting infertile. A scheme is being framed to re-populate these villages. He said that if need be, then the left over lands will be used for farming, horticulture, tourism and other works by acquiring these lands by the government but the people have to come forward to help in this endeavor.
Chief Minister said that the state government is getting close to providing electricity to each house by 2019 and this target will be achieved on time. He said that for contribution of migrant Uttarakhandis in the development of the state a Migrant Uttarakhand Parishad will be formed.
He said that the all the villages which are sensitive from landslide point of view will be rehabilitated in a phased manner in the next ten years. He said that the rehabilitation of such villages has been provided separately in the budget. The work of broadening and beautification of roads in Dehradun will be speeded up and a sum of Rs. 77 crore has been earmarked for the purpose. Uttarakhand has achieved success in air connectivity and in the first phase of ‘UDAAN’ project, helicopter services will start from Pithoragarh, Chinyalisaur, Gauchar, Haldwani and Sahstradhara from October 4. The helipad services will be provided in “13 district,13 destination” scheme.
He said that for marriage of daughters belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and destitute widows, till now, cash help was being provided as per the budget sanctions but now such eligible Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and destitute widows will bet cent per cent economic help for marriage of their daughters. He said that under the old age pension scheme, only one of the couple was getting pension while being alive but from now onwards, both the eligible couple will get the old age pension.
Chief Minister said that “Zero Tolerance Policy” has been followed towards corruption and this has brought a change in the working of administration. The financial discipline and transparency has resulted in increase in revenue. The impact of good intentions and clear principles is being reflected. There is an increase in our GDP and per capita income. We are working to fill the gap of development between village and cities and plain areas and hills. There is focus on the development of the rural areas and growth centres are being established at Nayaya Panchayat level. The government is working with a new thinking in farming, horticulture and animal husbandry.
Talking about organic farming, Pandit Deen Dyal Upadhaya Farmer Welfare Scheme, farm machinery bank,Milk Collcetion unit, Chief Minister said that work on a strategy from “Seed to market” is being done. A lot of work is being done on connectivity and ‘Char Dham’ All Weather road, Rishikesh-Karanprayag Railway project, ‘UDAAN’ project are some of these projects. A new “Jan Shatabadi” train will be started soon between Haldwani and Dehradun. High level centres like C-PAT, Drone Application and Cyber Security have started. Doctors have been posted in the hills and people living in remote areas are getting benefits of tele- radiology and tele- medicine. ICU units are being set up in the district hospitals. Through home stays and “13 districts,13 destinations” tourism is being taken to the villages. All the revenue villages of the state have access to electricity.
Giving example of Lt. Vartika Joshi, Chief Minister said that daughters had always brought glory to Uttarakhand. The state government is focusing on making women economically stronger and the ‘Devbhog Prasad’ scheme has been a success.
Chief Minister said that mountains, forests and rivers are our precious heritage. It is the responsibility of all of us to save them. We are making development plans to ensure the protection of our natural resources. Public cooperation is very important in protecting the environment. For investment in the state, Investors Summit is being organised on October 7 and 8. Through the Investors Summit, our target is to attract investment of 40,000 crore. Chief Minister said that we all have to work together for the all-round development of the state. He said that Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has stressed on the concept of Team India for a united India, in the same way we have to work with the spirit of Team Uttarakhand. State government, legislators, officers, farmers, women, youth, students, entrepreneurs have to get united to contribute in the formation of Uttarakhand of dreams.
On this occasion the Chief Minister honoured the freedom fighters with a shawl. Chief Minister also honoured Police Deputy Superintendent BL Tamta, Birendra Singh Rawat, Mahesh Chander Joshi, Inspector Bhagwan Singh, Virendra Dutt Uniyal and Commandant Om Prakash Bhatt with the “Chief Minister Meritorious Service Medal”. Sub Inspector Mohan Giri and Platoon Commander Naresh Chandra Jakhomola were also honored for getting selected for the “Union Home Minister Medal for Excellence in Police Training” 2015-16. In the programme, artists of the Indo Tibetan Border Police band and culture department gave attractive presentations.
