NITI Aayog Vice President Suman Beri said that the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand has a lot of potential in the field of tourism, especially adventure and wildlife tourism. Special efforts should be made for branding the state. He also suggested to emphasize on the conservation of biodiversity in the state. In a high-level meeting chaired by NITI Aayog Vice President Suman Beri at the Secretariat on Saturday, the future strategy for the socio-economic development of Uttarakhand was discussed. Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, Vice President of Setu Commission Rajshekhar Joshi along with senior officials of the state government and NITI Aayog were present in the meeting. On this occasion, NITI Aayog Vice President Suman Beri said that there is a need to promote sustainable tourism in Uttarakhand. A comprehensive action plan should be made for this. Emphasizing on gender development, he said that the participation of women should increase in various fields. He said that NITI Aayog will provide all possible support to the problems and issues raised by the state.
River linking project will be a game changer
Earlier, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi sought the required support from NITI Aayog for the adverse conditions of the state and their solutions. She informed that the state has so far revived 5428 sources by conserving and enhancing their water. 228 small and big rivers have been revived by treating them. Now the outline of the river linking project is being prepared. This project will prove to be a game changer. This will benefit the state as well as the neighboring states.
Relaxation in the standards of centrally funded schemes
The Chief Secretary said that cooperation is expected from the commission to set up incubation centers in rural areas. In the first phase, two such centers were established as a pilot project. In the second phase, these are being established in all the districts. She said that there is a need to make them more decentralized by relaxing the prescribed standards of centrally funded schemes. Technical assistance should be received from NITI Aayog for eco-tourism along with green skilling in the state. He informed that like NITI Aayog, Setu Aayog has been constituted in the state. Advisors, domain experts, research associates and internships are being appointed in the commission for effective policy planning. He informed that Uniform Civil Code is being implemented in the state to eliminate gender inequality. This will give equal rights to women. For gender equality, 30 percent reservation has been ensured for women in government jobs and 33 percent reservation in cooperative management committees. To attract more investors, the state government has made 25 investment-oriented policies. He requested to include lift irrigation in the guidelines of PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana. He also sought cooperation in creating planting material hub.
Making the state a knowledge hub
The Chief Secretary said that efforts are being made to make the state a knowledge hub. For this, service sector policy has been implemented. In this, special attention has been given to education, IT, data center, wellness, AYUSH, sports. Subsidy is being given for the establishment of schools in hilly areas and higher education institutions in hilly and plain areas in the state. He said that the Himalayan ecosystem is the most sensitive and provides water, biodiversity and ecosystem services to large areas. Regular monitoring and conservation of glaciers and long-term water management strategies are being developed.
