Uttarakhand cabinet approves reopening of schools for Classes VI-XII from Feb 8

DEHRADUN: Dehradun: Uttarakhand cabinet, which convened on Saturday, approved the reopening of schools — both private and government — from Classes VI to XII from February 8. To recall, classes X and XII were allowed to open in November last year. Students of rest of the classes have been on online learning mode for the past few months.
In another important decision, the cabinet — chaired by chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat — approved the proposal of giving an additional 50-days of guaranteed employment to those with MGNREGS job cards, who have completed 100 days of work.
According to government spokesperson and cabinet minister Madan Kaushik, the move will put an additional burden of Rs 18.9 crore on the state exchequer. The additional cost will be fully borne by the state government.
The cabinet also discussed the issue of single-use plastic, which is already banned in Uttarakhand. “Any type of single-use-plastic bags, having any size, thickness, pattern, colour, with handle or without handle will be banned in Uttarakhand,” said Kaushik. He added, “Thermocol material and disposable plates and cutlery made with plastic will be completely banned in the state. Anyone found manufacturing single-use plastic will be imposed with Rs 5 lakh fine, those found transporting it will be levied with Rs 2 lakh fine, and those found selling will have to pay Rs 1 lakh. The person buying single-use plastic items will have to pay Rs 100 fine.”
The cabinet also amended the Uttarakhand Excise Policy. It gave the go-ahead to the proposal of licensing of liquor vends that will be alloted for two-years through e-tendering. The application fee was increased from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.
In yet another decision, country-made liquor stores have been allowed to sell beer, and liquor shops allowed to remain open from 10 am to 10 pm while in city areas, the time limit will be 11 pm. The cabinet also gave its nod to introducing Cyber Crisis Management Plan (CCMP) for countering cyber attack and cyber terrorism activities.