Uttarakhand to be declared fully literate state, govt to bear partial insurance cost of mules on Kedarnath, other pilgrimage tracks

The Pushkar Singh Dhami government in Uttarakhand’s has decided to declare the state fully literate with the cabinet’s formal approval on Thursday. The government will bear 20 per cent of the insurance premium cost for around 15,000 equestrian animals used on Kedarnath and other pilgrimage tracks. It also gave its nod to a new embryo transfer pilot project aimed at improving cattle breeds and increasing milk production.

Bansidhar Tiwari, additional secretary to the chief minister, shared the Dhami cabinet’s decisions, informing that the proposal to formally make the Himalayan state fully literate was one of 12 important approvals cleared during Thursday’s cabinet meeting. “The Cabinet approved the proposal to declare Uttarakhand a fully literate state based on the literacy standards aligned with the National Education Policy 2020. Uttarakhand has been found to fulfill all the set norms to be declared a fully literate state in the country as per NEP 2020,” he said.

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Sharing another important decision made by the state cabinet, Tiwari said the government decided to provide major relief to the owners of the horses and mules (equestrian animals) operating on the Kedarnath Yamunotri and Hemkund Sahib Yatra routes by contributing 20 per cent of the insurance premium amount from its side. “The state cabinet also approved the proposal for sharing 20 per cent insurance premium amount for the equestrian animals used on the Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Hemkund Sahib tracks, while the remaining 80 per cent cost will be borne by the animal owners. “According to the additional secretary an estimated 15,000 registered horses and mules will be covered under the scheme for the 2026 pilgrimage season. “Based on an insurance rate of five percent on an assessed value of ₹70,000 per animal, the state government will bear its ₹1.05 crore share of the total premium amount of ₹5.25 crore.”

Apart from this, Tiwari said the Dhami cabinet approved a pilot project for embryo transfer in cattle to improve breeds and increase milk yields. “The Department of Animal Husbandry proposed a pilot project aimed at improving cattle breeds in the state through embryo transfer to increase the population of the purebred cattle and the overall milk yield. The Cabinet approved the proposal for rapid production of high yielding hybrid cattle in the state,” said the Additional Secretary.

Apart from those three, the Dhami cabinet also approved nine other proposals pertaining to different departments. These included mainly Education department, Uttarakhand prison services, golden cards scheme of health department, power department, PWD, spcial welfare department and International Himalayan Car Rally to be organised by the state tourism department.