It was gifts galore all the way for the poll-bound state of Uttarakhand on its 11th foundation day on Wednesday.
In the morning, the UPA government gifted a rail project with Union defence minister A K Antony and Union railways minister Dinesh Trivedi laying the foundation stone for 125-km-long Rishikesh-Karanprayag rail line for better connectivity and development in the backward Garhwal region.
Minutes later, a combative chief minister B C Khanduri also endowed the hill state with 28 announcements to counter the UPA’s rail gift. Five per cent interest subsidy in loans, review of the hill industrial policy, tissue culture facility for cane growers were some of the new intiatives announced by Khanduri, who is in full election gear these days.
Sonia Gandhi, whose speech was read out at Gauchar, said the new Rs 4,295-crore rail project would go a long way in promoting development particularly in tourism sector of the state.
The UPA government will sanction all the rail projects where surveys have already been carried, she said.
Khanduri said the state government would provide a five per cent interest subsidy for a maximum of five years for an education loan up to Rs 10 lakh on the interest rate prescribed by the bank for pursuing education by children, whose parents annual income is not more than Rs 3 lakh.
The government has also decided to give an award of Rs 50,000 to each student who are permanent residents of the state and are selected for professional and technical courses like IIT, IIM, NIT, NDA, IMA and medical. A similar five per cent interest subsidy for a maximum of five years for a loan up to Rs 10 lakh for generating self-employment opportunities.
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A new mining and quarrying policy would be propounded and implemented this month with a view to stop illegal mining in the state.
With the hill industrial policy failing to make much-headway despite a slew of fiscal and non-fiscal facilities, Khanduri said his government would amend the 2008 hill industrial policy to boost the industrialisation process in the backward areas.
Khanduri also announced that a work plan would be prepared for regularisation of illegal dwellings in urban areas of the state.
In a major decision, Khanduri said the government has doubled the grant amount to Rs 10 lakh under the Vir Chandra Singh Garhwali Paryatan Swarozgar Yojana for creating new avenues in the tourism sector.
He said the cases of Nazul land to free hold pending at present would be resolved on the basis of the circle rates of land in force on November 9, 2000.
The chief minister said 100 polyhouses would be established in each of the 13 districts of the state for which the state government would give an additional grant of 30 per cent besides the Central grant of 50 per cent.
A revolving fund of Rs 2 crore would be established for the development of herbal sector. A new hill seed corporation would be set up with an initial cost of Rs 6 crore, he said.