A whopping 83,700 new jobs, graduation free of cost, wheat and rice at Rs2 and Rs3 for BPL families and a series of more such bonanzas. This was perhaps the nicest birthday gift, the people of Uttarakhand got when the hill state turned 10 on Tuesday.
At a function marking the formation day of the hill state, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank even left US President Barack Obama far behind in terms of the creation of new jobs. The Chief Minister said he will create 83,700 jobs that include 33,700 in the government sector alone and the rest 50,000 in private sector in one year time. In the government sector, Nishank said he will fill 12,000 vacant vacancies of class-III employees and 4,000 in police department. In addition to this, the government would recruit 4,000 teachers and 490 instructors in various ITIs.
Faced with the growing criticism on issue of the reported neglect of the hilly region, Nishank announced the formation of village secretariats at all the 670 nyaya panchayats. In all, 670 such secretariats would be developed and 10 employees would be recruited at each panchayat. Besides, he said the government has decided to regularise nearly 6,000 daily wagers in the government service.
The Chief Minister also announced a series of sops to the BPL families, who will now get wheat and rice at Rs2 and 3 per kg respectively. These BPL families will be able to get 20 kg of wheat and 15 kg of rice every month. This incentive will benefit nearly 16-17 per cent of the total population of Uttarakhand. For APL families, wheat and rice will be given on discount of Rs2.60 and Rs2.45 per kg.
The government will provide a special incentive of Rs10,000 for the marriage of all the girls in the BPL category. Launching a new “Ashirwad Yojna” for the poor children, Nishank said the government will send 1,000 children for higher education with the support of top industrial houses. The government has already tied up with the Hinduja Group in this regard. More such tie-ups with other business groups are in the offing.