Wednesday, 20 SEPTEMBER 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Chief secretary SS Sandhu said that during the tourist season, the number of visitors to tourist destinations in the State is higher than the capacity of these locations. Considering this, nearby places should be developed for eco tourism to attract tourists. He directed officials to develop eco parks along the Char Dham Yatra circuit. The chief secretary issued these directions while chairing a video conference regarding eco parks with district magistrates and divisional forest officers.
Sandhu said that since most of the State is under forest cover, such sites can play an important role in the State’s economy. While caring about the ecology, the government also has to provide employment to the people. Developing eco parks is one way of achieving this, he said. Seeking information from the district magistrates about the current status of proposals from the districts, he said that considering the high number of tourists visiting popular destinations in the State during the tourist season, nearby picturesque spots need to be developed for eco tourism and the tourists need to be diverted to such locations. Stating that this will also generate employment opportunities in places in and around such new tourist destinations, he directed the officials to develop as many eco parks as possible near the Char Dham Yatra routes. He said that Udham Singh Nagar is the gateway to the Kumaon region and has many water bodies which can be connected to the economy without causing damage to the environment. Sandhu directed that the use of cement and steel in eco parks should be minimal while the use of wood and bamboo should be maximised. The time limit should be set at every level to ensure that the works are completed on time. Stating that the projects should be monitored consistently, he directed that the proposals related to the Forest department should be sent to it soon.
The district magistrates informed Sandhu about the proposals from the districts, adding that the detailed project report for most of the proposals had been prepared while work had also started on some of the projects.
Principal chief conservator of forests Anup Malik, principal secretary of Forests, RK Sudhanshu and ACEO of the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Yugal Kishore Pant and other officials were also present in the meeting.
