 "Development issues on Himachal voters' minds")
Summer, the peak tourist season in Himachal Pradesh, is difficult for Ajay Seklani, who runs a small tea shop on Shimla’s Mall Road. The state capital is struggling with a water shortage and residents often go without supply for three days during summer.
“Usually we get water for an hour in the night, so we store. But in summers it is difficult because often there is no water for days,” Seklani said.
The problem is neither limited to Seklani nor to Shimla. While most hotels and households in the city depend on water tankers, many other parts of the state such as Kufri, Tatta Pani, Baddi, Solan and Nalagarh have similar complaints.
According to residents of the hill state, there are two major reasons for the shortage. One, hill stations like Shimla are still largely surviving on the water systems established by the British even as the population of the capital city alone has increased to over 4,50,000 now from 20,000 at Independence. Also, industrialisation in the foothills of the Himalayan state in the past 10 years has sucked up a huge quantity of groundwater. Regions such as Baddi, Nalagarh and Solan, promoted as Special Economic Zones through tax incentives, are dominated by drug and biotech units that need lots of water.
“We do not depend on any government,” says Pradeep Kumar, who runs a taxi service in Shimla. “What has the government done for us? It is our hard work that still attracts tourists here and allows us to lead a prosperous life.”
Leading candidates include Shanta Kumar, former Himachal Pradesh CM; Pratibha Singh, sitting Congress MP and wife of CM Virbhadra Singh; the BJP’s Anurag Thakur and Virendra Kashyap. Development has been the buzzword. Locals grudge the random construction in the hills, which has raised the temperature significantly, impacting tourist footfalls.
Horticulture, minerals and timber industries have also suffered. Entry of some private players has increased the wholesale rates for apples in Kufri and oranges in Tatta Pani, orchard owners complain of lack of logistics.
Protest is getting louder against industrialisation, which picked up pace during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. Though the Baddi-Nalagarh highway is lined with trucks, the reality is many truck owners are suffering losses. When industries came to this region, many villagers sold their land to these companies and bought trucks. These trucks would ply for these companies.
According to a senior official in the state administration, Baddi-Nalagarh has 8,000 registered trucks, the highest in Asia. However things have changed in 10 years. With the expiry of the tax incentive and the government’s inflexibility on an extension, many factories are relocating. Data shows the industrial investment proposals in Himachal Pradesh have drastically come down from over Rs 6,000 crore in 2009 to merely Rs 449 crore in 2013.
According to Sharad Jaipuria, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the industrial rush to the hill state has come to a halt mainly because of the withdrawal of excise benefits. “A significant number of units have already started packing up. This may have an adverse impact on the industrial growth of the state.”
State government data shows 8,972 units were set up between 2003 and 2014. However, the expansion in the past few years has been limited to 294 units. The state has also failed to create infrastructure. Glenmark Pharma President (Operations) Jalaj Sharma says, “The Baddi industrial zone has created a huge number of jobs and companies have invested significant sums. However, infrastructure in terms of roads, transport and even accommodation is far below average. The government must invest significantly in these areas. This will help the state in getting more investments and keep companies invested in the region," Glenmark Pharma President Operations Jalaj Sharma said. Companies such as Glenmark Pharma, Panacea Biotec, Vardhaman Industries, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Hindustan Unilever, Fresinius Kabi Oncology and Abbott have a significant presence in the state through their manufacturing factories.
Apart from large companies, many medium and small scale firms and contract manufacturers of chemicals, textiles as well as consumer goods are also present in the foot hills of Himachal Pradesh.
ALSO READ: Himachal drug manufacturing hub relies on other states for remedy
In spite of the presence of over 5,000 such firms in Baddi, Nalagarh, Barotiwala and Ramgarh, the area lacks schools, hospitals, taxi service, even a good market place. “For everything we have to depend on neighboring Chandigarh and Panchkula,” says Gokul Chand, a local who runs a hotel in Baddi. He adds that most executives working in the factories live in Chandigarh, around 30-35 km away.
Even as tourism and traditional medicines such as ayurveda have found place in manifestos of political parties, it may not be easy to woo voters in Himachal Pradesh struggling to earn their living.
“There is a need for setting up of an international airport in the state to facilitate international tourism from Europe and South East Asia," says Jaipuria. Improving air connectivity within the state and with the rest of the country needs to be taken up on priority not only for attracting tourists but also to draw investments from sunrise sectors like information technology and biotechnology, it is felt.
“Usually we get water for an hour in the night, so we store. But in summers it is difficult because often there is no water for days,” Seklani said.
The problem is neither limited to Seklani nor to Shimla. While most hotels and households in the city depend on water tankers, many other parts of the state such as Kufri, Tatta Pani, Baddi, Solan and Nalagarh have similar complaints.
| POLL HEATS ON HIMACHAL |
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“We do not depend on any government,” says Pradeep Kumar, who runs a taxi service in Shimla. “What has the government done for us? It is our hard work that still attracts tourists here and allows us to lead a prosperous life.”
Leading candidates include Shanta Kumar, former Himachal Pradesh CM; Pratibha Singh, sitting Congress MP and wife of CM Virbhadra Singh; the BJP’s Anurag Thakur and Virendra Kashyap. Development has been the buzzword. Locals grudge the random construction in the hills, which has raised the temperature significantly, impacting tourist footfalls.
Horticulture, minerals and timber industries have also suffered. Entry of some private players has increased the wholesale rates for apples in Kufri and oranges in Tatta Pani, orchard owners complain of lack of logistics.
Protest is getting louder against industrialisation, which picked up pace during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. Though the Baddi-Nalagarh highway is lined with trucks, the reality is many truck owners are suffering losses. When industries came to this region, many villagers sold their land to these companies and bought trucks. These trucks would ply for these companies.
According to a senior official in the state administration, Baddi-Nalagarh has 8,000 registered trucks, the highest in Asia. However things have changed in 10 years. With the expiry of the tax incentive and the government’s inflexibility on an extension, many factories are relocating. Data shows the industrial investment proposals in Himachal Pradesh have drastically come down from over Rs 6,000 crore in 2009 to merely Rs 449 crore in 2013.
According to Sharad Jaipuria, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the industrial rush to the hill state has come to a halt mainly because of the withdrawal of excise benefits. “A significant number of units have already started packing up. This may have an adverse impact on the industrial growth of the state.”
State government data shows 8,972 units were set up between 2003 and 2014. However, the expansion in the past few years has been limited to 294 units. The state has also failed to create infrastructure. Glenmark Pharma President (Operations) Jalaj Sharma says, “The Baddi industrial zone has created a huge number of jobs and companies have invested significant sums. However, infrastructure in terms of roads, transport and even accommodation is far below average. The government must invest significantly in these areas. This will help the state in getting more investments and keep companies invested in the region," Glenmark Pharma President Operations Jalaj Sharma said. Companies such as Glenmark Pharma, Panacea Biotec, Vardhaman Industries, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Hindustan Unilever, Fresinius Kabi Oncology and Abbott have a significant presence in the state through their manufacturing factories.
Apart from large companies, many medium and small scale firms and contract manufacturers of chemicals, textiles as well as consumer goods are also present in the foot hills of Himachal Pradesh.
ALSO READ: Himachal drug manufacturing hub relies on other states for remedy
In spite of the presence of over 5,000 such firms in Baddi, Nalagarh, Barotiwala and Ramgarh, the area lacks schools, hospitals, taxi service, even a good market place. “For everything we have to depend on neighboring Chandigarh and Panchkula,” says Gokul Chand, a local who runs a hotel in Baddi. He adds that most executives working in the factories live in Chandigarh, around 30-35 km away.
Even as tourism and traditional medicines such as ayurveda have found place in manifestos of political parties, it may not be easy to woo voters in Himachal Pradesh struggling to earn their living.
“There is a need for setting up of an international airport in the state to facilitate international tourism from Europe and South East Asia," says Jaipuria. Improving air connectivity within the state and with the rest of the country needs to be taken up on priority not only for attracting tourists but also to draw investments from sunrise sectors like information technology and biotechnology, it is felt.