On the occasion of completion of one year tenure of Pushkar Singh Dhami government, it is also natural to assess the performance of his team members, i.e. ministers. The BJP, which was successful in forming the government for the second consecutive time with a large majority in the fifth assembly elections, fielded eight cabinet ministers as Team Dhami.
Dhami initially asked all the ministers to prepare a 100-day roadmap, but later department-wise targets were set on the theme of strong Uttarakhand, which have been resolved to be completed by the year 2025. In the coming times, concrete steps towards achieving these goals are also going to be a test of fire for the cabinet ministers.
Ministers whose departments have made more announcements than the work done on the ground so far, for them the time to come is no less than a challenge. It is a matter of satisfaction for the government that during one year’s tenure, no minister was stained. Sporadic complaints or displeasure of the ministers regarding the officials came to the fore, but like the previous governments, it did not take the form of a tussle.
Premchand Aggarwal:
Cabinet Minister Premchand Aggarwal, who is handling the responsibility of many important departments, was in the role of task manager. The tax department got success in the campaign started to increase the state GST after the GST reimbursement from the center to the state was stopped. When the state GST increased, due to the Corona crisis, an attempt was made to take care of the state treasury by increasing the circle rate after three years.
From the smart city project to the construction of green and brown cities under urban development and housing, the base land has been prepared. As the Minister of Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs till now he played an important role in floor management during the Vidhansabha session. However, the political environment was heated for almost a whole year due to the controversy over the appointments made in the Legislative Assembly during his tenure as the Speaker of the previous Legislative Assembly.
Now in the coming time, as Finance Minister, his role is going to be challenging in fulfilling the resolution of doubling the State Gross Domestic Product in five years. Along with this, Bhagirath efforts are required for improving the financial condition of 102 municipal bodies and expansion of civic facilities. Premchand Agarwal will have to fight on these fronts.
Satpal Maharaj:
Cabinet Minister Satpal Maharaj is in charge of important departments like PWD, Tourism, Panchayati Raj, Culture, Irrigation. The construction of roads has picked up pace during his one-year tenure, but the patchwork work is still going on to make the roads pothole-free. However, it is targeted to be completed by the end of this month.
Steps have been taken to ensure that the pilgrimage to Char Dham, especially Badrinath Dham, is not affected due to the Joshimath disaster. From the point of view of tourism, Himalaya Darshan Yojana has been started and places are being identified for adventure activities like paragliding.
Not only this, from the point of view of tourism, Cabinet Minister Maharaj has given many ideas, which are yet to be implemented. In Panchayats, the decision to write CR of CDO to District Panchayat President and BDO to Block Chief has been made effective. Maharaj has been continuously lobbying to allow ministers to write CR of departmental secretaries. A decision on this is yet to be taken from the level of the Chief Minister.
Premchand Aggarwal, who is holding the responsibility of Finance, Urban Development and Housing, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Reorganization and Census Ministries in the Government of Uttarakhand, said that steps have been taken forward by preparing a blue print of an action plan to increase resources to strengthen the state’s economy. .
He said that efforts in the form of financial discipline, austerity and control over borrowing have been fruitful. Now the government is moving forward with the goal of making cities the growth engines of development.
On the other hand, Lonivi, Panchayatiraj, Rural Works, Culture, Dharmasva, Tourism, Watershed Management, Irrigation and Minor Irrigation Minister Satpal Maharaj said that I will give 75 out of hundred marks to my one year tenure. Now we have chalked out a strategy to make Chardham Yatra safe and secure.
He said that a plan has been made to decentralize tourism. Tourism activities are being started in border villages. In view of the empowerment of the three-tier panchayats, the 14 subjects, which were previously mandated to be brought under the panchayats, came to the ground.
