PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has requested the Union government to provide relaxation to Uttarakhand in some policy matters.
He was addressing the 25th meeting of the central zonal council (CZC) in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. The Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the meeting which was attended by the CMs of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.
In his address, Dhami said that Uttarakhand is a predominantly a mountainous State with 71 per cent of its area under forest cover. He said that the economic activities of the State are limited due to the complex geographical situation and various natural disasters. He said that despite these adverse conditions and limited resources, the economy of the state has grown by about one and a half times. The State has secured first position in the SDG ranking released by NITI Aayog in the year 2023-24 and has got second place in the category of small States in the field of good governance and financial management.
Dhami said that Uttarakhand is very important from a strategic point of view due to which it is necessary to provide adequate facilities of road, communication, security and logistics supply in the border areas of the State. He urged Shah to provide more assistance to Uttarakhand through the Border Roads Organization. The CM added that under the Vibrant Village scheme facilities should be developed in the border villages of the State. He also requested to start Bharat Net Yojana, 4-G expansion project and satellite based communication services for the development of communication facilities in the border areas of the State.
In the meeting the CM also demanded support from the Centre government for one-time allocation of central grant of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in the state, providing additional support for efficient operation of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana, setting up a glacier study centre for studying the effects of climate change and setting up a biodiversity conservation institute. The CM sought cooperation for the establishment of an International Adventure Sports Training Centre in the State.
Dhami listed implementation of Uniform Civil Code, strict anti-copying law, anti-conversion law, anti-riot law and land law in the State as achievements of his government.
He said that the country’s first Yoga policy has also been launched in the state and two spiritual economic zones will be created in the State to promote Ayurveda , naturopathy, Yoga and spiritual tourism in the state.
Dhami said that the meetings of the CZC in the past years have paved the way for the resolution of many important policy and inter-state issues.
