Uttarakhand cabinet approves formation of integrated safety scheme to deal with natural calamities

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Wednesday chaired a cabinet meeting here and approved the formation of an integrated safety scheme under the high-intensity earthquake minimization program to deal with natural calamities in the state.

Under the scheme formulated with a view on earthquakes in the state, a budget of Rs 500 crore will be approved for a period of five years to deal with natural calamities in Uttarakhand.

The cabinet also sanctioned a budget of Rs 3,73,00,000 for the survey of buildings vulnerable to natural disasters and decided to induct around 25 Disaster Mitigation employees into the District Disaster Management Control (DDMC).

In the cabinet meeting, discussions were held on 30 issues. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and other cabinet ministers were seen wearing jackets made of 'Kandali' (grass).

The cabinet approved the Uttarakhand University Amendment Service Rules, Nursery Act and directed setting up of a committee under the chairmanship of Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat to review the Indian Forest Amendment (1927).

It was also decided in the meeting to formulate a hot mix plant policy for stone crushers, under which, stone crushers will be given a license for 10 years instead of the current five-year term and they have to set up plants at least 3 km away from rivers.

The Cabinet decided to increase the grant for community radio stations from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and also mandated entrepreneurs to register their start-ups under 'Start-up policy'.

A committee was also set up to oversee and deal with the issues in the construction of houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.