State Scan: Rawat yet to prepare development road map for Uttarakhand

Farm policy has not been unveiled, industry in bad shape

In his previous stint as minister in the Uttarakhand government (2007-12), Trivendra Singh Rawat, who had the portfolio of agriculture, had remained dissatisfied with his work because the then chief ministers BC Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank did not given him a free hand.

But after becoming chief minister on March 18 this year, expectations had mounted that Rawat would do everything to boost agriculture, which is the main source of income for the majority of the people in the state.

After completing six months in office on September 18, Rawat is yet to unveil plans to help the state’s farmers double their income, a key promise made by him.

In the industrial sector, nothing much is happening, top officials say. In recent media interviews, Rawat, however, had talked about some plans to bring fresh investment in the state. For example, he said investments worth more than Rs 1,300 crore were coming. He also said his government would set up 670 growth centres, covering all the nyaya panchayats.

On previous occasions, all the chief ministers except ND Tiwari had made similar assertions albeit unsuccessfully. Tiwari, who never made lofty claims, has been the only chief minister who is credited with industrialisation. All world-class industrial estates such as Haridwar and Pantnagar were set up in his tenure (2002-07).

After the exit of Tiwari, the process of industrialisation showed slowdown. And in 2017-18, it is at its lowest ebb. Fresh investments have nearly stopped. Therefore, Rawat is a bit worried.

“Our chief minister is positive on the industrial sector. He has held detailed talks on setting up units, especially in the hills,” said Pankaj Gupta, president of the Industries Association of Uttarakhand (IAU).

But Gupta said there was a slowdown in the industrial sector, mainly due to the goods and services tax and other factors. MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) growth is the only hope now, according to him. But sluggishness in the industrial sector is not the only challenge before Rawat. Challenges are aplenty.

Though Rawat had declared a policy of zero-tolerance against corruption, the state government’s decision on a CBI probe into the Rs 300 crore National Highway 74 scam in Udham Singh Nagar district has cut no ice with the Centre, which is against any such investigation. In the meantime, the state government had handed over investigations to a special investigation team (SIT). 

But despite all odds, Rawat looks composed. He got a pat on the back from BJP President Amit Shah, who was on a two-day visit to Dehradun in September, for doing “good work”. 

Rawat is lucky in not facing any dissension in the BJP state unit. All the former BJP chief ministers had faced open rebellion soon after assuming power. First it was Nityanand Swami, who was forced to quit following a revolt from his successor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari in 2001. And when BC Khanduri became chief minister in 2007, he again was forced to quit in 2009 in a similar manner by his political adversaries within the party. And when Nishank became chief minister in 2009, both Khanduri and Koshiyari joined hands to oust him.

The state government is mainly banking on the Centre’s two big initiatives — Rs 12,000 crore all-weather roads and the Rs 43,292 crore rail project for the development of the Chardham area in the Garhwal region.

The government has said that the Centre has sanctioned Rs 1,700 crore in the first phase for all-weather roads and Rs 4,000 crore is in the pipeline. “We hope to complete these two projects in time. This will give a tremendous boost to the overall development of the Garhwal region,” said state Finance Minister Prakash Pant.

The implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission on higher salaries is likely to put stress on the state’s fiscal health. The pay hike will put an additional burden of Rs 4,000 crore on the state exchequer. Rawat appears to be adopting a very cautious approach on the issue. The government has also committed itself to providing power and roads to all the villages by 2019. In addition to this, it has decided to construct a house for everybody by 2022.

The government has not made much headway in the education and health sectors, the two areas which had been neglected by all the previous governments. The shortage of doctors, especially in the hills, is a big issue. Teachers are not ready to go to hilly and backward areas, where the education standard is very bad. 

But Rawat has completed just six months. The performance of his government can be judged only after the completion of one-two years, experts say.