Cabinet nod to stone crusher policy

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 19

Ahead of the Assembly session slated for July 21, the state Cabinet today approved several decisions, including a stone crusher policy for the state, a recruitment, service and promotion policy for health workers and a fund for the welfare of women.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat chaired the Cabinet meeting in which the stone crusher policy was approved, empowering the District Magistrates to grant approval to set up stone crushers.

A policy drafted by the Department of Health was also given approval to streamline the appointment of health workers based on qualification and tenure (service period).

The Cabinet also decided to give 10 per cent additional assistance to women falling in one, more or all categories, such as widow, disabled, deserted and old-aged. Earlier, a woman could be eligible for only one category for pension. Besides, a fund would be set up for providing assistance to women.

In another decision, the Cabinet raised the annual income from Rs 12,000 to Rs 44,500 for families of students who belong to the OBC category and were eligible for government’s pre-matric scholarship scheme.

The government also approved a fixed deposit scheme (Rs 10,000) for the rehabilitation of women inmates, who have spent more than two years at the state-run Nari Niketan.

Further, heeding the public demand for setting up a rehabilitation centre for the mentally-ill, who are often found wandering in streets, the Cabinet approved land at Selaqui for setting up a ashram. An NGO is likely to run the ashram.