ED conducts raids against former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat in money laundering case
Dehradun (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches against Uttarakhand Congress leader and former minister Harak Singh Rawat as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.
The searches were carried out at multiple premises in Uttarakhand, including his residence in Dehradun, apart from Delhi and Chandigarh, they said.
Rawat, 63, had quit the BJP ahead of the 2022 Uttarakhand assembly polls and joined the Congress.
The ED investigation is understood to be linked to alleged illegal activities in the state's Corbett Tiger Reserve.
The Uttarakhand government's vigilance department had also raided Rawat last year in connection with a probe into alleged large-scale felling of trees and illegal constructions in the tiger reserve.
Thousands of trees were allegedly felled and constructions were carried out in the reserve during Rawat's tenure as the state forest minister in the previous BJP government.
Apart from the Congress and the BJP, Rawat has also been part of the BSP in the past.
He began his political career with the BJP in the undivided Uttar Pradesh, joined the BSP in 1996 and quit it two years later to join the Congress.
After a long stint of 18 years with the Congress, he rebelled against the previous Harish Rawat government to join the BJP in 2016.
He was expelled from the BJP in 2022 as he allegedly insisted on party tickets for himself and his daughter-in-law for the assembly polls.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
