A cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was held on Wednesday, during which 19 proposals were discussed and approved. The cabinet took several important decisions related to land consolidation, medical education, tourism, minority education and government service rules.
One of the major decisions taken in the meeting was regarding voluntary land consolidation (chakbandi) in the hill areas of the state. The government has decided to implement voluntary land consolidation in mountainous regions with a target of 10 villages in every district. For the process to begin in any village, consent from at least 75 percent of villagers will be mandatory. The consolidation process will be carried out digitally and provisions have also been made for resolving objections.
The cabinet also approved the Uttarakhand State Chakbandi Personnel Service Rules 2026. In another decision, amendments to the Revenue Council Review Officer Service Rules were approved. Under the revised rules, candidates will now need typing speed of 8000 key depressions along with knowledge of Microsoft Office and Windows instead of only basic computer knowledge.
The government approved renaming the fragrance plant centre as the Perfumery Research Institute. Approval was also given for creation of two additional posts under the Supreme Court-related setup in New Delhi.
The cabinet approved restructuring of the Directorate of Medical Education, increasing the number of posts from 29 to 40. It was also decided that 277 employees working since 2009 in Government Medical College Srinagar will receive equal pay for equal work.
The structure of the lab technician cadre will also be reorganised and 266 posts of Medical Lab Technical Officer will be created. Along with this, approval was granted for 16 posts in the Women Sports College at Lohaghat.
The cabinet also approved amendments in the small hydropower project policy. Under the revised policy, developers will not have to deposit performance security. Instead of detailed project reports, pre-feasibility reports will now be prepared initially. Timelines related to forest clearance for developers have also been fixed.
Approval was also granted to the educational rules under the Uttarakhand Minority Education Act. Rules related to recognition applications, conditions, renewal and cancellation of recognition have now been defined.
In another important decision, the amount for construction work in gram panchayats has been increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
The cabinet approved amendments in the travel business registration rules as well. Under the revised rules, homestays can now have up to eight rooms instead of six. It will also be mandatory for the operator to reside at the homestay property. The renewal process for registrations will now become automatic.
The cabinet further approved creation of 15 posts in forensic science. Changes were also approved in the rules related to appointment of directors in UPCL, UJVNL and PITCUL. The word “appointment” has been removed from earlier provisions, allowing outside candidates to also become directors in these corporations.
