Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 8 Jul: A team from NITI Aayog, led by NITI Aayog Member Prof (Dr) M. Srinivas, met Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at his official residence, here, on Wednesday. On this occasion, a detailed discussion was held on various important issues related to the holistic and sustainable development of Uttarakhand. The Chief Minister emphasised the need for effective and visionary policymaking in accordance with the state’s geographical conditions, demographic challenges, and development potential.
The Chief Minister stated that NITI Aayog has always provided positive support in Uttarakhand’s development. He expressed confidence that NITI Aayog’s guidance and support will continue in the future, keeping the state’s needs in mind. He emphasised that for a mountainous, pilgrimage-oriented, and tourism-oriented state like Uttarakhand, policymaking should prioritise not only the permanent population but also the state’s floating population. He stated that approximately seven to eight times more people visit Uttarakhand each year than the state’s permanent population, placing additional pressure on health, drinking water, sanitation, transportation, and other basic services. Therefore, this factor must be properly incorporated into planning and resource allocation.
The Chief Minister placed special emphasis on strengthening the health sector and promoting health education. He said that along with the expansion of quality health services, public awareness and health education should also be given equal priority so that people can effectively benefit from better health facilities.
Describing women empowerment and child development as crucial pillars of the state’s development journey, the Chief Minister urged sustained and result-oriented efforts in this direction. He emphasised the need to develop a coordinated action plan to free children from malnutrition and effectively address the problem of anemia among women, and to implement it effectively on the ground.
The Chief Minister said that regular seminars and discussions should be organised with subject matter experts in agriculture, horticulture, tourism, water resources, biodiversity, skill development, and other promising areas in Uttarakhand, in collaboration with NITI Aayog. This would help in formulating practical and innovation-based policies tailored to the state’s needs.
Describing water conservation as the need of the hour, he said that effective and long-term plans for rainwater harvesting should be specifically implemented. Additionally, better policymaking and coordinated efforts are needed to enhance livelihood resources, create local employment, and promote sustainable economic development. The Chief Minister expressed confidence that coordinated efforts between the state government and NITI Aayog will provide new impetus to Uttarakhand’s all-round and balanced development.
Present on the occasion were Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Principal Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, Additional Secretaries Narendra Bhandari, Dr. Sandeep Tiwari, ACEO, Setu, Manoj Pant, Advisor and Programme Director, NITI Aayog, Dr Sonia Pant, Deputy Secretary, NITI Aayog, Deepak Kumar, Special Officer, NITI Aayog, Dr Shobhit Kumar.
