PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Stating that migration from border regions is a national security concern, the Bharatiya Janata Party State president and Rajya Sabha member Mahendr Bhatt said that changes should be made in the census policy for Uttarakhand which is facing geographical challenges and migration. He demanded that the Centre should prepare a special mountainous model and policy for the 2027 census and conduct it in the ‘Apni Ganana- Apna Gaon’ model in Uttarakhand. Speaking in the parliament, he stressed on the importance of the ‘Apna Gaon’ campaign, stating that such an exercise could be effective in the revival of Uttarakhand. Villages in the border regions being deserted due to migration is a national security concern, he said.
Referring to the geographical, social and demographic challenges faced in Uttarakhand, Bhatt demanded that the Centre should conduct the 2027 census on the lines of a public participation based special campaign like the ‘Anpi Ganana- Apna Gaon’ instead of the traditional method. “The 2027 census will become the basis of the nation’s development policies and resource allocation. However, the ground reality in Uttarakhand is unlike other States considering the difficulties in accessibility and the problem of migration. Going by the traditional method of census, the people may appear to have gone to urban areas and will be registered as residents of those cities. This will drastically reduce the official population of villages, which in turn will reduce the resource allocation to such areas. This will affect the basic and important facilities like hospitals, schools and roads in such rural areas. The Apni Ganana-Apna Gaon is a new model for national security and development. If the border villages are deserted, the real situation will not come to the fore and this is not just an development issue but also a cause of concern when it comes to national security,” Bhatt said.
He demanded that a special census policy should be prepared for mountainous and border regions. Separate data should be collected for ‘migration’ and ‘domicile’ as part of the exercise.
