Uttarakhand Cabinet clears anti-drug force revamp, minimum wages for forest workers

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], February 11 (ANI): The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a series of significant policy decisions ranging from strengthening the state's anti-drug machinery and improving wages for forest workers to restructuring health services under the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) scheme and amending prison laws.
In a major push to intensify the anti-drug campaign in the hill state, the cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami approved the creation of a separate institutional structure for the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), which was constituted in 2022.
Till now, the task force had been functioning with personnel taken on deputation from the police force.
As part of the new framework, 22 posts have been created at the state headquarters for the first time. These include one Deputy Superintendent of Police, two Drug Inspectors, one Inspector, two Sub-Inspectors, four Head Constables, eight Constables and two Constable Drivers.
The move is aimed at strengthening enforcement and ensuring sustained action against drug trafficking and substance abuse in Uttarakhand.
The cabinet also approved the payment of minimum wages to daily-wage workers employed by the Forest Department. Acting on the recommendations of a ministerial subcommittee, the government decided to provide a minimum monthly salary of Rs 18,000 to 589 daily-wage employees who were previously not covered.
Officials said that out of a total of 893 daily wage workers working in the Forest Department and the Forest Development Corporation, 304 were already receiving minimum wages, while the remaining will now be brought under the revised framework.
Another key decision concerns the determination of service conditions for medical officers and higher posts in the Employees' State Insurance medical services cadre. The cabinet promulgated the "Uttarakhand Employees' State Insurance Scheme, Labour Medical Service Rules, 2026," under which a total of 94 posts will be created.
These include 76 Medical Officers, 11 Assistant Directors, six Joint Directors and one Additional Director. Earlier, the ESI structure in the state comprised only one Chief Medical Officer and 13 Medical Officer posts, officials noted.
In line with the Centre's decision, the cabinet also approved the extension of the Chief Minister Micro Food Enterprise Upgradation Scheme till March 31, 2026. The move follows the Ministry of Food Processing Industries extending the centrally sponsored Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme by one year, up to March 31, 2026.
The cabinet decided that any future extension granted by the Government of India would automatically be applicable to the state scheme as well.
The cabinet further approved the drafting of the Uttarakhand Prisons and Correctional Services (Amendment) Act, 2026, to bring the definition of "Habitual Offenders" in line with Supreme Court directions and state laws. The amendment bill will be reintroduced in the upcoming session of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.
Additionally, the cabinet decided to withdraw the Payment of Bonus (Uttarakhand Amendment) Bill, 2020.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, expressed disagreement with the bill's provisions. Also, since conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic no longer exist, and because the proposed bill was made available to the Uttarakhand government's Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Department without the President's approval, it could not be progressed.
In view of these facts, the state government has decided to withdraw the Payment of Bonus (Uttarakhand Amendment) Bill, 2020, from the Assembly in its current form. (ANI)