Wednesday, 26 JULY 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Terming the proposed integrated township projects in Doiwala in Dehradun and Parag Farm in Udham Singh Nagar as disastrous for the State the Uttarakhand Congress has said that it will strongly oppose these projects. Interacting with the media persons at the State headquarters of the Congress on Tuesday former chief minister Harish Rawat said the concept of the project is wrong from the environmental, economic and geological point of views and is against the principles of urbanisation. He said that the township project in Doiwala would remove the lung of Dehradun and it would create a vast urban area from Dehradun to Haridwar which would become unmanageable. He added that the farming land would be converted into an urban mass and farmers would suffer from it. Rawat said that the concept of mountainous State would cease to exist from the proposed township. He clarified that the Congress party is not against urbanisation and has always supported planned urbanisation. Launching an attack on the BJP government the former CM said that the integrated township project is another conspiracy by vested interests to grab the resources of Uttarakhand. Rawat said that the efforts of the Congress government ensured that the land of Parag farm in Udham Singh Nagar district got vested with the State government and it was decided to hand over the land to landless, the villagers needed to be relocated from the disaster prone areas and the women entrepreneurs but the BJP government shelved the plan and is now planning to hand it over to land sharks.
The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara said as per the reports the BJP government intends to set up an integrated township in an area of 3081 hectares of land in Doiwala and it would take over 2334 hectares of land from the farmers. He said that local people don’t want to give their land for the project and an environment of fear is being created in the people. He added that a sum of Rs 1100 crore has been earmarked for the project and similar efforts are being done in Kiccha also. Mahara added that Uttarakhand falls into a very sensitive seismic zone and such projects would endanger human life. He claimed that a conspiracy is being hatched to hand over the land to select businessmen. Mahara also criticised the government for making people residing in IDPL for the last 50 years homeless. Former cabinet minister Nav Prabhat said that the BJP government is planning to hand over the State to land mafia and few industrialists. The president of Parva Doon Congress, Mohit Uniyal, chief spokesperson Garima Dasauni, president of Rudraprayag Congress Kunwar Sajwan and president Chamoli Congress Mukesh Negi were present on the occasion.
