Sunday, 20 October 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the State government is working on an ambitious project of linking the snow fed rivers of Uttarakhand which will prove to be a game changer for the State in the long run. He said that the river linking project will require a huge sum of money and NITI Aayog should provide technical assistance for the project. The CM made this contention during a meeting with the deputy chairperson of the NITI Aayog Suman Bery at the State secretariat on Saturday.
The CM said that Uttarakhand is a State with tough geographical conditions and it faces challenges of disaster, forest fires, migration and floating population, The State has two international boundaries which make it a strategically important State. Dhami said that policies should be formulated while keeping in view the geographical conditions of the Himalayan States. The CM requested a special policy for preventing migration from the mountainous areas of the State.
He said that the population of Uttarakhand is 1.25 Crore but people ten times the population of the State visit every year because it is an important centre of tourism and religion in the country. The CM averred that development of the basic infrastructure is needed due to the large floating population. He said that a policy should be formulated for the State in view of the large floating population. The CM told Bery that Uttarakhand is a disaster sensitive State and every year it faces human and financial losses due to the disaster. He said that the policy for the state should be made in view of the disaster sensitivity of Uttarakhand.
The CM said that the State is also affected every year by forest fires due to which it needs adequate resources. He also requested that a special policy for development of border areas should be made.
He said that the State government has taken up the initiative of ‘ Shashakt Uttarakhand in the year 2022 to fulfill the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The State has taken up a target of doubling the economy of the State in the next five years. The GSDP of the State has become 1.3 times of what it was in the year 2022. The CM said that the State government has prepared short, midterm and long term road maps to achieve the target.
Bery congratulated CM for Uttarakhand getting first rank in the country in achieving the targets of the Sustainable development goals. He assured every possible help to the State and added that the Aayog will also provide help in development of aspiring districts and blocks.
The deputy chairperson of SETU Rajshekhar Joshi, chief secretary Radha Raturi, additional chief secretary Anand Bardhan and other officers attended the meeting.
