Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, in an important meeting with NITI Aayog Vice President Suman Beri at the Secretariat on Saturday, raised in detail the difficulties being faced by the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in the expansion of infrastructure. He said that policy formulation is necessary keeping in mind the geographical conditions of the Himalayan states. Migration from mountainous areas is a serious problem. To solve this, a special policy should be made for livelihood growth in mountainous areas. Chief Minister Dhami also discussed important issues of the state with the Vice President of NITI Aayog. He said that disaster, forest fire, migration and floating population are big challenges in the state. The state has to grapple with the odd geographical conditions in the form of mountainous, plain, Bhabar and Terai. Uttarakhand is a strategically important state due to its proximity to the international borders of two countries. He said that the state government is working on the ambitious project ‘River Link Project’ to connect snow-based rivers with rain-based rivers. A lot of money is required for this. He requested the Commission to provide technical support for the project.
Floating population, disaster, forest fire should get support
The Chief Minister said that a policy should be made keeping in mind the floating population in the state. He said that the population of the state is about 1.25 crore, but being a religious and tourist state, 10 times more tourists and travelers are traveling. The state has to develop infrastructure for them. Natural disasters cause loss of life and property every year in the state. Infrastructure facilities are damaged on a large scale. Policy formulation is necessary keeping this in mind. Forest fire is a serious problem in the state. He sought support from the Commission to provide adequate resources to the state to deal with it.
Special policy should be made for border areas
He also supported making a special policy for the border areas of the state. The Chief Minister said that the state government started the initiative of Strong Uttarakhand from the year 2022. A target has been set to double the economy of the state in the next five years. At present, the economy of the state has increased 1.3 times as compared to the year 2022. To achieve this goal, short-term, medium-term and long-term roadmaps have been prepared.
NITI Aayog will provide all possible support to the state: Suman Beri
NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Beri congratulated the Chief Minister on Uttarakhand getting the first position in the ranking of Sustainable Development Goals released by NITI Aayog. He assured all possible support for the topics related to the major challenges of the state discussed in the meeting. He said that NITI Aayog will also provide all possible support for the development of aspiring districts and development blocks of the state.
