Uttarakhand govt tables 11 bills in House

Gairsain: Uttarakhand govt Tuesday tabled 11 bills in state assembly, including Uttarakhand Devbhoomi Parivar Bill, aimed at creating a unified family database across the state. The proposed Devbhoomi Parivar Yojana, modelled on Haryana's Parivar Pehchan Patra, will assign each family a unique ID linked to govt welfare schemes. The system is intended to streamline welfare delivery, improve transparency and help citizens track benefits received or pending. The database is expected to support a proactive, paperless governance model while reducing record duplication.Uttarakhand Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, proposes decriminalising minor offences by removing jail terms in several cases and increasing monetary penalties to reduce overcrowding in prisons. Besides, Uttarakhand Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2026, seeks to replace the colonial-era Public Gambling Act, 1867, in compliance with directions issued by Union ministry of home affairs. The bill seeks to introduce stricter provisions to curb and penalise public gambling, operation of gambling houses and betting on games in the state.Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Minority Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aims to strengthen Uttarakhand Minority Commission, established in 2002, to safeguard constitutional rights and interests of minority communities. The commission works for the welfare and protection of communities such as Muslims, Jains, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis and Sikhs. The amendment aims to ensure adequate representation of these communities and expand the commission's tenure, jurisdiction, and functions to promote their socio-economic development.Among other bills introduced by the BJP govt in state assembly were Uttarakhand Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill,, Uttarakhand Prisons and Correctional Services (Amendment) Bill, Uttarakhand [Uttar Pradesh Public Service (Reservation for Physically Handicapped, Dependents of Freedom Fighters and Purva Sainiks) Act, 1993,] (Amendment) Bill, Uttarakhand Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, Uttarakhand Language Institution (Amendment) Bill, and Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Amendment Bill.