Dainik Nation News Portal
-In an important decision taken during the cabinet meeting on Thursday, the Uttarakhand government has decided not to give any fresh work to Uttar Pradesh Rajya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN) and to have all the works having been executed in the recent past or being now executed thoroughly reviewed. In addition, the cabinet has authorised the planning department to do scrutiny or to have scrutiny conducted through a third party on the works being done by UPRNN. Besides, to give fillip to the digital transaction, the state government has decided to install point of sale (PoS) in each of the 9200 public distribution system (PDS) outlets spread across the state by the end of this year.
This aside, to give completion to Uttar Pradesh in matters of fuel pump sets, the state cabinet has decided to reduce cess by one percent on the fuel being sold from Uttarakhand. Currently, things are balanced in favour of the fuel pump sets being manufactured in UP with the same from Uttarakhand being made to pay one percent cess on the fuel. Considering that the same from UP being sold from the inter-state border areas attracting more and more buyers from Uttarakhand, the cabinet has decided to do away with the cess to make the price of such pumps from the state more competitive. Once the decision is executed the price of the same to be sold from the two states would be the same, drawing away the buyers based in Uttarakhand from the sets manufactured in UP.
The cabinet also decided to clear decks for the expansion of the Haldwani bus depot and workshop in Nainital district by handing over the land, now under the Mandi committee under department of agriculture, to the transport corporation free.
By way of giving incentives to the doctors, now getting half their salary if they are on education leave or on career enhancement course like MD/MS for the first two years and even less in the third year, the cabinet has decided that they would receive half their salary for the consecutive three years if they sign a bond, stating that they would work in the state for the next five years. What happens is that the doctors on education leave draw 50 percent salary for the first two years and thereafter, they do not return to their designated places. The practice that leaves the health department in difficulty would stop once the doctors would receive the emoluments for the three consecutive years, though after signing the bond of staying put in the state for the next five years, say the observers.
Acting on the guidelines of the Central management board, authorised to study technical viability on the projects to be built on Ganga or its tributaries, the cabinet has constituted a cabinet sub- committee to be headed by the minister Prakash Pant and comprising two other ministers – Subodh Uniyal and Dr Harak Singh Rawat as members. The sub-committee has been asked to submit its report to enable the state government to send it to the Centre by the end of this month.
Besides, the cabinet has decided to install PoS in each PDS outlet. Tenders would be floated soon and PoS would be Aadhar card- based payment system to enable the customers to pay their bills by touching the PoS. It would be one step ahead in the direction of digital transaction being promoted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cabinet note said.
Cabinet has also incorporated amendments in General Provident Fund (GPF). Now, the employees are entitled to withdraw money from GPF account for any reason, post the cabinet decision. Earlier, there were some limitations which are being withdrawn now. This aside, stress was laid on settling all the VAT- related litigation pending for the past three years to facilitate the transition to Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime by July this year.
