CM lays foundation stone of 11 projects at Ground Breaking Ceremony
By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
DEHRADUN, 5 Mar: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in a ground breaking ceremony held for investment proposals worth Rs 27,000 crores at a function held at a local hotel today. The programme was organised by the Industries Department. A large number of investors and dignitaries were present on this occasion. In addition, the CM laid the foundation stone also of 11 government projects and handed over appointment letters to 64 candidates selected for various posts in the State Industries Department.
The programme was chaired by Cabinet Minister Ganesh Joshi. It may be recalled that, with the fresh grounding of the investment MoUs worth Rs 27,000, the total worth of the projects grounded so far in relation with the Global Investors Summit held in December 2023 has crossed an amount of Rs 71,000 crores already.
While welcoming the industrialists and representatives of industry at the programme, the Chief Minister reminded that he had described them as brand ambassadors of Uttarakhand. In reality, their contribution and role has been much more significant than being just brand ambassadors. He added that, when he gave a target of MoUs worth Rs 2.50 lakh crores for the recently held Global Investors’ Summit to the officials, he had been told by some that the target was unachievable. However, due to hard work by the officers concerned and due to the conducive environment that prevails in the state, MoUs worth Rs 3.5 lakh crores had been signed during the summit. A significant proportion of the investment MoUs had been signed even before the Global Investors’ Summit during the trips he, along with the officers concerned, had made to various places like Delhi, Mumbai, London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Many events were held in Delhi, Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar, Dehradun, Ahmedabad, etc. The CM added that the commitment of the state government to creating and maintaining an industry friendly system is also evident from the fact that, in Udham Singh Nagar, existing industrialists also committed to additional investment worth Rs 30,000 crores in the state. In Haridwar, the existing industrialists also committed to additional investment of more than Rs 25,000 crores. This, he said, proved that the industrialists who are already working in the state are happy with the facilities and the cooperation provided by the government to them.
The Chief Minister added that, so far, grounding of more than 20 percent of the MOUs signed during the Global Investors’ Summit has been achieved in just a matter of three months, which itself is a major achievement but the government is committed to hundred percent grounding of the projects. He said that the dreams seen during the Investor Summit are now slowly coming to fruition. He claimed there is continuous progress in the field of infrastructure. There is continuous improvement in connectivity, be it rail, road or air. He said that permission to operate a 42-seater airplane has been received for Pithoragarh and the process of developing Pantnagar as an international airport is also in progress.
Dhami reminded the gathering that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a special bond and attachment with Uttarakhand and has stated that he has ‘Karma and Marma’ relationship with the state. PM Modi has declared that this decade is that of Uttarakhand. In the last 10 years, many major development works have been done in all the areas of the state under his guidance. Due to the special attachment of the Prime Minister for Uttarakhand, the state has got a new identity and the confidence of the people and the state government has also increased. Under his guidance, the state government is working with determination to build a developed India and Uttarakhand.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also honoured the winners of Startup Uttarakhand Grand Challenge 2022-23, namely Sakshi & Group, Ankush Garg, Soumyadeep & Abhi, Luv Sharma, Mayank Bisht, Arun Sharma, Tejas & Vansh, Samriddhi & Group, Samriddhi & Shiv Sakshi and Kuldeep Bisht. In addition, the CM also handed over appointment letters to 64 candidates who have been selected for appointment in the Industries Department.
Earlier, addressing the gathering, Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi said that Uttarakhand is setting new standards every day and, along with a favourable environment for industries, all types of infrastructure facilities are being made available.
Chief Secretary Radha Raturi said that this decade would be that of Uttarakhand.
She reminded that the state had made 30 new policies to promote investment in the state. The state administration remains in constant communication with the industry. Whatever problems arise related to industries, they woud be resolved immediately so that Uttarakhand can become a leading state in investment. Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan and Secretary, Industries, Vinay Shankar Pandey also addressed those present and threw light in detail on the investments made so far. Vardhan stressed that Uttarakhand had come a long way since its formation. At the time of its formation, the total investment in the state was only Rs 8,000 crores and employment generated for only 70,000 persons whereas, now, the investment has crossed lakhs of crores of rupees and employment generation has crossed 2.50 lakh jobs.
Industrialist Pawan Aggarwal, owner of Naini Paper, one of the largest paper manufacturing units in the country, and RS Yadav from India Glycol, also shared their experiences in dealing with officialdom here and praised their proactive behaviour.
Also present on this occasion were Vice Chairman, Infrastructure Monitoring Council, Vishwas Dawar, Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, Special Secretary Dr Parag Madhukar Dhakate, Director General, Information, Banshidhar Tiwari, representatives of industrial groups, industrialists, officials of various associations and related officials.
