The Uttarakhand Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, approved several key decisions on Wednesday. The Cabinet agreed to adopt the guidelines and additional instructions issued by the Union Ministry of Power for resolving Right of Way (RoW) issues linked to the construction of transmission lines.
With this change, PITCUL will now offer fair compensation to landowners for constructing inter-state transmission lines of 66 kV and more. The move aims to speed up implementation of projects and resolve RoW disputes. Compensation has been increased: land directly under the transmission tower’s four corners and within a one-meter boundary will now get twice the circle rate.
For agricultural fields under transmission lines, relief will be paid at circle rates; 30% in rural areas, 45% in semi-urban areas, and 60% in urban areas. If circle and market rates differ significantly, a panel led by the District Magistrate will set the final amount. A representative of landowners will also be part of this committee.
The Cabinet okayed the Uttarakhand Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Ordinance, 2025, in line with the Centre’s guidelines. The ordinance decriminalises minor offences, replaces jail terms for small violations with monetary penalties, and removes outdated legal provisions. Penalties have been rationalised, and fines will automatically increase by 10% every three years to maintain deterrence.
The Cabinet also cleared additional FAR incentives to promote green building standards in new constructions in the state, according to the Centre’s Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) 2025–26 scheme. This is meant to encourage eco-friendly development across the state.
To ensure simpler and more uniform construction rules, the Cabinet approved the rationalization of building and development bylaws under SASCI 2025–26.
Changes will be made to rules related to road width, setbacks for commercial and office buildings, ground coverage and FAR, hotel height norms, guidelines for resort and eco-resort, access roads, and stilt parking height to ensure simpler and more uniformed constructions.
To boost tourism, the Cabinet decided that agricultural land can now be used for building resorts without needing any land-use change, just like eco-resorts. The required access road width for resorts has been decreased to 6 meters in hilly areas and 9 meters in plains.
For better planned development of urban areas, including integrated road networks, housing, and essential facilities, the Cabinet approved the Uttarakhand Town Planning Scheme (Implementation) Rules, 2025.
The Uttarakhand Land Pooling Scheme (Implementation) Rules, 2025, were also approved to ease land acquisition for organised urban development without major hurdles.
The Cabinet decided that faculty recruitment at Uttarakhand Technical University will now be handled at the university level, just like other universities, instead of through the Public Service Commission.
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