By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 19 Oct: In a meeting with Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Suman Bery at the Secretariat here today, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, informed the Commission about the innovative efforts and achievements made by the state government. Raturi also highlighted key points regarding the special circumstances of the state of Uttarakhand and placed before the Commission, some demands and expectations of the state from the NITI Aayog.
Radha Raturi shared that to promote maximum entrepreneurship in rural areas, two Rural Incubation Centres were initially established as a pilot project. These centres have shown promising results, and in the second phase, Rural Incubation Centres will be established in all districts. She urged the NITI Aayog that technical and financial support from the Centre is required to establish these centres on a larger scale.
She observed that generally the centrally funded schemes run by the Government of India on the concept of “One Size Fits All.” She emphasised the need to change the prescribed standards of these schemes, providing relaxation, and promoting more decentralisation in planning and policies. She mentioned the formation of the National Skill Council and Sector by the Union Government and sought technical assistance from NITI Aayog for Green Skilling and Eco-Tourism activities in the state.
Radha Raturi also shared that about 25 investment-oriented policies (Investor Friendly Policies) have been made by the state government to attract maximum investors. Since laying the foundation of investor-centric policies, the state has grounded investments worth Rs 75,000 crore as of 2023, compared to the MoU of Rs 3.56 lakh crores in the Global Investment Summit. She stated that the state government is focussing on energy, school and higher education, tourism, wellness and hospitality, and horticulture for active participation in the goal of a developed India.
Raturi stressed upon the importance of promoting helicopter services in the state, considering the state’s challenging geographical conditions and frequent disasters. She said that this is crucial not only from a tourism perspective but also from a traffic standpoint. She requested that like the Northeast states, Uttarakhand also needs special support from NITI Aayog, to be included in the category of 24 percent capital Subsidy for small hydropower projects.
The CS proposed granting the State Government permission to approve and implement projects under hydropower schemes of less than 25 MW capacity at its own level. He claimed that this would result in an additional 170 MW power generation capacity in the state and help achieve the goals of Net Zero by producing clean energy under the vision of Developed India @2047.
Raturi requested that Lift Irrigation be also included in the guidelines of “PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana” funded by the Government of India, for other irrigation options for horticulture development in the state. She reported unprecedented improvement in water supply through the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme and requested including Source Augmentation in the guidelines of Jal Jeevan Mission, considering the gradient of water sources in the mountainous region.
The CS also sought cooperation from National Horticulture Board and National Seed Corporation to full the strong potential of establishing a high-quality “Planting Material Hub” in Uttarakhand. She said that with this cooperation, the state can provide planting material to other states as well.
Radha Raturi concluded by stating that the State Government has promulgated the Service Sector Policy 2024 to develop Uttarakhand as a Knowledge Hub.