By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 30 Jul: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today said that balance has to be maintained between ecology and economy by using science and technology. The Chief Minister was addressing the Bodhisattva dialogue programme organised to develop Champawat district as a model district at the CM Camp office today. The Chief Minister said that work has to be done with full dedication to make Uttarakhand a leading state of the country by the year 2025.
The Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand could show the path of development to the entire Himalayan region. Keeping a balance between economy and ecology, a roadmap for sustainable development is being prepared, he observed. He informed that Champawat district has been taken as the model. All types of geographical conditions are present in Champawat. It would become a model not only for Uttarakhand but for all Himalayan states.
The Chief Minister said that various departments and institutions are steering various developmental activities but they require coordination. An integrated approach has to be adopted so that the departments and institutions benefit from each other’s work, which would also benefit the state.
The Chief Minister said that UCOST ought to work as nodal agency to make Champawat district an ideal district. Speedy work must be done on Corbett Trail and Ayush Village in Champawat. The possibility of making helipad be also studied. Small industrial areas could be developed by SIDCUL. Employment oriented and market demand based courses ought to be conducted in ITI. The state government was in touch with the central ministries to develop road and rail connectivity. There is also a lot of potential in eco-tourism, fisheries and horticulture.
In the meeting, Dr Anil Joshi, Founder, HESCO said that things will have to be taken forward with everyone’s participation by making use of each other’s experiences. Appreciating the initiative of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for the Bodhisattva dialogue programme, he said that Uttarakhand had intellectuality given to it by nature. There had been a Rishi tradition here. Champawat could be developed in different clusters. It has to be done from a scientific point of view.
The officials of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing also made a presentation on mapping related to topography, land use, site suitability analysis, soil, irrigation, biodiversity, infrastructure, drainage, ground water, geological structure, landslide. It was told by the Fisheries Institute that there is a lot of potential for work in trout fishing. It was said by the Forest Department that along with eco-tourism, work can be done in the field of herbal and aromatic through Van Panchayats.
Director of UCOST, Prof Durgesh Pant, PCCF Vinod Singhal, Additional Secretary C Ravi Shankar, Ranjana, Banshidhar Tiwari, DM Champawat Narendra Singh Bhandari and officers of various departments and NABARD were present in the meeting.
