Uttarakhand cabinet grants 10% quota for statehood agitators
The Uttarakhand state cabinet has reportedly approved a grant of 10% "horizontal reservation" for all statehood agitators and their dependents in government services. The cabinet also approved providing child adoption leave to its single-male government employees for a total of 80 days to encourage more single men to adopt children. They can be availed of at any stage in their career. Notably, these moves are part of a series of progressive measures taken by the Uttarakhand government.
Looking at Uttarakhand's reservation for statehood agitators
Reservation was initially approved for statehood agitators in government jobs under the ND Tiwari government in 2004 for a period of five years, which was extended later. However, the high court halted it in August 2013. Amid this, statehood agitators from various organizations reportedly raised the matter persistently. A bill in this regard will be tabled in the House in the upcoming state assembly session, which begins on Tuesday.
Decision on reservation taken on Friday: Report
Notably, in March of this year, the Uttarakhand state cabinet proposed providing statehood agitators with a 10% horizontal reservation in government jobs. Previously, a proposal for the same was presented to Governor Margaret Alva in 2011 but was rejected. The news agency ANI reported that the approval came at Friday's cabinet meet chaired by state Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. In total, the state cabinet approved a total of 20 proposals at Friday's meeting at the Secretariat.
Cabinet greenlights Rs. 11,000 crore supplementary budget
The cabinet also approved a Rs. 11,000 crore supplementary budget as well as rescheduling fees for capacity enhancement of hydropower projects within Uttrakhand. Moreover, the cabinet plans to present a bill to nullify a total of 199 acts, including 16 from Uttarakhand and a total of 183 laws from Uttar Pradesh, to streamline the legal framework and reduce the burden of outdated laws. Uttarakhand became a state in 2000 after it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh.
