The Uttarakhand Cabinet met at the NHPC Guest House in Banbasa, Champawat district, on Sunday for the first time outside the state capital and approved 24 proposals covering development, land, education and governance. The meeting was held in Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s home constituency and focused on infrastructure and public services in border and hill areas.

The Cabinet approved the release of Rs. 662.9 mn to Uttarakhand SIDCUL and Tarai Development Corporation for assets transferred for the expansion of the Greenfield Airport at Pantnagar. The funds will support new construction and other approved works under the corporation’s action plan.

It also cleared the Mukhyamantri Uchcha Shiksha Kaushal Samvardhan Yojana, 2026, which will provide employability and entrepreneurship training to around 119,000 students in government and private universities and affiliated colleges. The scheme is intended to make higher education more employment-oriented, with Rs. 2 bn allocated over five years.

Land-related decisions included granting Bhumidhari rights to Class-3 and Class-4 land leaseholders and encroachers. Transitional rights will be provided to eligible holders in Nagar Panchayat Lalkuan, Nainital, while Class-4 land in Pargana Jaunsar-Bawar, Dehradun, will be regularised for one year using 2004 circle rates before the prevailing rates apply.

The Cabinet approved the Uttarakhand Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2026, setting the annual fiscal deficit limit at 3 per cent of gross state domestic product and total outstanding debt at 30 per cent for April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2031. It also approved a six-post Project Management Unit for forest land transfer scrutiny, PAN verification for property transactions, and revised private university norms requiring built-up areas of 2,500 sqm in hills and 20,000 sqm in plains.

Other decisions included tabling the Sixth State Finance Commission report, repealing the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act, 1873, and introducing the Uttarakhand Irrigation and Drainage Bill, 2026. The Cabinet also approved a Director General post for animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, a Sub-Registrar office at Narendranagar covering 133 revenue villages, and revised stipends or salaries for residents and demonstrators in government medical colleges.