Tuesday, 10 January 2023 | PNS | Dehradun
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the aim of the State government is to make Uttarakhand a leading state in science and technology, and innovation. The solution of problems like the one being faced in Joshimath will also be found with the help of science and technology. Interacting with heads of various central institutions and technical enterprises in the State at the Uttarakhand@25 Bodhisatva series at his camp office on Monday evening, Dhami said that work will have to be done under a single roof to solve the problem being faced in Joshimath. Focus will have to be laid on the survey of the State’s cities and their carrying capacity will also have to be ascertained. He said that ecology and economy will have to be balanced in the State’s development model.
The CM said, “This interaction is an ideal platform for different experiments on varied subjects considering the ecological diversity of the Himalaya. We are in a region highly sensitive from the ecological point of view due to which we have to face various types of disasters. The recurrence of such disasters is a matter of concern. We are all aware of the subsidence in Joshimath and scientific viewpoint and scientific solutions are invited for it. For the sustainable development of the State, the roadmap is being prepared on the basis of suggestions received from prominent persons from all sections of society,” he said.
Dhami also expressed happiness while recalling that the Uttarakhand pavilion had received the first prize in the 108th national science congress, pride of India expo. He said that developing the outline for the State’s development based on scientific thinking is the motive behind the Uttarakhand@25 initiative. He stressed on the need for an empowered science and technology, and innovation policy for the all round development of the State in a phased manner.
Dhami further said that realising the importance of science and technology, the State government has established coordination with the major scientific and research institutions in the State along with the office of the principal scientific advisor to the Prime Minister. Making the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST) the nodal agency, the State government is working on development of Champawat as a model district. He said that answers to serious problems like that in Joshimath are also possible only through science and technology so all major central research institutions and the State government have to prepare an action plan in coordination. The CM said that another priority of the State government is to take all scientific institutions in Uttarakhand together and prepare an integrated model for the all round development of the State.
Chief secretary Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, secretary Shailesh Bagauli and UCOST director general Durgesh Pant also expressed their views during the meeting.
