In Jaisalmer, 11 main points were kept by the Uttarakhand government in the order of the instructions of CM Dhami

Jaisalmer: In the pre-budget consultation meeting with the state and union territories in Jaisalmer on Friday under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, 11 main points were kept by the Uttarakhand government in the order of the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Finance Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal participated in the meeting on behalf of the state. The Chief Minister said that keeping ecology and economy in focus, important aspects like knowledge economy, groundwater conservation, ropeway, complete railway circuit, hydro-electricity production etc. have been kept by the state. The Chief Minister said that for groundwater conservation, work has been started on the Song Dam project of about Rs 2500 crore in the state. The state also received approval of Rs 100 crore from the Central Government under the ‘Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment’. He said that this time in the memorandum, the state government has requested to start a new centrally funded scheme for groundwater conservation, so that our efforts for Song Dam and groundwater conservation can get further momentum.The Chief Minister said that in view of the floating population in the state, dedicated centrally funded scheme financial assistance has been requested for additional infrastructure development and maintenance etc. A request has also been made to make provision for the establishment of All India Institute of Ayurveda in Uttarakhand through the upcoming Union Budget. The establishment of an institute of national importance in the field of Ayurveda education and research in Uttarakhand will give further impetus to the efforts of the state government. He said that many provisions have been made in the AYUSH Policy 2023, including promoting health services, encouraging investment. The state government is working towards implementing the country’s first Yoga Policy. Cooperation has been sought from the Central Government for setting up a Centre of Excellence related to Artificial Intelligence and Cyber ​​Security in the state.

The Chief Minister said that being a hilly and border state, a request has been made to survey the railway line between Bageshwar to Karnaprayag and Ramnagar to Karnaprayag and develop the railway network as a circuit to expand connectivity in Uttarakhand. To encourage hydroelectric projects in remote and inaccessible areas of the state, it has been requested to make necessary provisions in the upcoming budget to provide viability gap funding of Rs. 8 thousand crores at the rate of Rs. 2 crore per megawatt. It has been requested to consider increasing the central share in viability gap funding from 20 percent to 40 percent for all hilly states including Uttarakhand for ropeway projects. The Chief Minister said that a request has been made to extend the time limit for completion of the remaining works under the Jal Jeevan Mission Scheme. In line with the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, it has been requested to cover the maintenance and operation of Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana under the centrally funded scheme. It has been requested to consider amendment in the standards of State Disaster Relief Fund and increase in the central share in old age pension for the age group of 60 to 79 years in the state in the upcoming budget. It has also been requested to make the ratio of labour and material 50:50 instead of 60:40 for all the hilly states including Uttarakhand under MNREGA, to make additional provision for transportation in hilly areas and to make the remuneration rate of semi-skilled labour for MNREGA works higher than that of unskilled labour and to increase the existing remuneration rate of skilled labour.

The Chief Minister said that the budget making process has been started in the state. We have made the process of pre-budget dialogue with stakeholders effective. Instructions have been given to invite suggestions from the public and include them in the budget by the concerned officials after testing them. Soon the pre-budget consultation for the state will be started. Finance Minister Prem Chand Agarwal presented his views in detail on the 11 points of the state’s memorandum in the pre-budget consultation meeting. Pointing out the state government’s view, he said that “There is a wave of making India a developed country in the Amrit Kaal Khand, Devbhoomi Uttarakhand is ready to make this Mahayagya successful.