The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, which provides environmental services worth about three lakh crores, has started preparing for a strong advocacy for green bonus in front of the 16th Finance Commission. For this, the Dhami government is preparing a strong and logical basis. The state government has entrusted the task of preparing a logical report with figures to the Govind Ballabh Pant National Himalayan Environment Institute in Almora. The Finance Commission is likely to come to Uttarakhand by April, Secretary Planning R Meenakshi Sundaram said that the institute will submit the report before that. The Uttarakhand government has demanded green bonus several times so far, but the matter did not work out. 71.08% of the state’s geographical area is covered by forest. There are high quality sal, pine, cedar, fir, oak forests, in which various types of wildlife live. There are seven wildlife sanctuaries and four conservation reserved forests in the state for the conservation of wildlife. Apart from these, many major rivers including Ganga, Yamuna, Alaknanda, Mandakini originate from the state, which also quench the thirst of the people of other states and their fields. All these environmental services are benefiting not only Uttarakhand but also other states of the country. But the responsibility of protecting all these lies on the shoulders of the state. Also, the development of the state has also been affected due to the rules of environmental protection. Due to the Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone, the hydro power projects under construction had to be stopped and many proposed schemes could not be started. Dozens of projects are stuck on Ganga and its tributaries. Their construction will strengthen the economy but the state has to pay the price of this development. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami is also demanding financial help in lieu of environmental services on all forums including NITI Aayog. On his order, now an appeal will be made to open the way for green bonus through an analytical report of data on all aspects of environmental services. Uttarakhand is providing environmental services to the entire country. In return, we have been demanding financial support from the central government. In support of this, we are collecting data related to environmental services so that we can advocate more and effectively before the Finance Commission.
– R Meenakshi Sundar, Secretary, Planning
