Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is consistently claiming that Uttarakhand will be one of the developed States of the country by 2025 and his government has prepared a comprehensive roadmap for this purpose. In recent times he has focussed on the global investors summit slated to be held in December this year and has held meetings with representatives of industry in different parts of the country and abroad for the success of the summit. In an interaction with Gajendra Singh Negi of The Pioneer Dhami talks about the summit and his plans for the State.
The government is planning to hold a global investors summit in December in Dehradun. What is the objective?
We have taken a target to make Uttarakhand one of the developed States of the country by the year 2025. In this context we are planning to attract national and international entrepreneurs to set up industries in Uttarakhand. The government is planning to attract investment worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore from the summit. In this endeavour to attract the attention of big investors and industrial houses, I am meeting with the investors in the major cities of the country and in the foreign destinations. The investors are eager to set up industries in Uttarakhand.
A similar summit was held in the year 2018 when Trivendra Singh Rawat was the chief minister and at that time also MoUs worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore were inked but many projects didn’t move forward from the agreement stage. What different is being done this time around?
The last summit generated a good response but due to the pandemic of Covid-19 some projects could not get grounded. This time we are contacting the entrepreneurs who promised to invest in the summit of 2018 and trying to get grounding of their projects. This time we are signing many MoUs before the summit so that their groundings can be done at the time of summit. We have also identified the land and infrastructure facilities to cater to the needs of industry and have created a land bank for the purpose. In the last four months we have formulated or revised 27 policies to create an investment friendly environment in the State. We are also planning to attract investment in the primary sector in the mountainous districts of the State.
There are concerns raised by different quarters about the environmental cost the State has to pay for some industrial units. Is the government doing any screening before allowing investment?
Yes we are doing in-depth analysis and assessment of every investment proposal we are receiving. The larger interest of the people of Uttarakhand, the employment generation capacity and effect on the environment will be assessed before allowing any project. It is our endeavour to maintain a balance between the economy and ecology.
Uttarakhand has a debt burden of Rs 75,000 crore which is almost equal to our annual budget. What steps is the government taking to increase its revenue?
We have launched the Empowered Uttarakhand mission under which the State government is planning to double its GSDP from existing Rs 2.75 lakh crore to Rs 5.5 lakh crore in the next five years. Our GST collection is increasing and in this year it has reported an increase of 25 per cent. In the May-June period this year we didn’t borrow money. The focus is on attracting the investors in the State which will help in employment generation and increasing income.
The State is prone to natural disasters. What plans has the government made to mitigate these disasters?
The government is very serious on this issue. We will host the Sixth World Congress on Disaster Management in Dehradun in November. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan will be the brand ambassador of the event. The objective of the event is to hold discussions and find solutions for the challenges of climate change and disaster mitigation. Another objective of the programme is to develop Uttarakhand as a centre for disaster mitigation and promptness and environment friendly solutions.
What is the status of the expert committee set up by you on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?
The committee has completed its work of compiling every relevant information and soon it will hand over the report to the government. Our government has got the mandate of the people to implement the UCC and it will be implemented in the State.
Speculations about cabinet expansion surface from time to time. When will these speculations be put to rest?
The expansion of the cabinet will be done and the necessary process is being followed. It will be done at the right time.
The opposition parties have come together to forge an alliance ‘INDIA’. Will it have any impact on the electoral prospects of BJP in the Lok Sabha polls of 2024?
The people of Uttarakhand have forged an alliance with BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP is coasting to landslide victories in Uttarakhand ever since Modi has become the PM of the country. The policies of the Union government and the State government are yielding positive results and the BJP will again secure victory in all the five seats in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024.
