Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday and congratulated him on assuming the responsibility of the Prime Minister of the country for the third time. He expressed confidence that under the able leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the country will be able to achieve new dimensions of overall development and set new records of success all over the world. On this occasion, the Chief Minister presented a replica of Mahasu Temple to Prime Minister Modi. During the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the Chief Minister informed him about various topics related to the development of the state. The Chief Minister said that hydropower projects for the social and economic development of the state of Uttarakhand are the main factor in the increase in the state’s gross domestic product (GDP). To meet the electric energy needs of the state, Uttarakhand has to purchase energy worth about 1000 crores every year from the open market, which is putting an additional burden on the financial resources of the state. The Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister about the 24 hydropower projects proposed in Alaknanda, Bhagirathi and tributary rivers. The Prime Minister was requested to re-review the final report of Expert Committee-2 constituted on the instructions of the Supreme Court with the Ministry of Water Power and the Ministry of Power.
The Chief Minister also requested the Prime Minister that in view of the special geographical conditions of the state of Uttarakhand, the Government of India and its agencies are facing difficulty in selecting suitable land for compensatory plantation for the smooth implementation of the road construction project in the state, because according to the currently prevalent Forest Conservation and Development Rules, and Guidelines 2023, only non-forest land has been made the basis for the above purpose, in which compensatory plantation can be done in equivalent non-forest land. It has also been provided that in the forest land recorded in the records of the Revenue Department, which is not under the control of the Forest Department, compensatory plantation can be done on twice the forest land. The Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand is 67 percent forest covered area. The availability of land for the development works of the state is less. The state of Uttarakhand is a state of strategic importance, bordering the international border. In view of its importance, various institutions of the Government of India, NHAI, BRO, ITBP, Railways and Army Department are facing delay in getting approval for construction of roads and other structures in the forest land located in the state due to non-availability of land under the Forest Conservation and Development Act, 2023.
