Bahuguna today laid the foundation stone for the second phase of State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL) in his constituency, Sitarganj.
"The project is meant to generate employment opportunities for the youth through industrial expansion and will stop their migration to other states in search of work," the chief minister said.
Under SIDCUL II, investment worth thousands of crores will be brought to the state without any industrial package or central aid, Bahuguna claimed.
The chief minister said basic infrastructure at an estimated expenditure of Rs 300 crore will be created in the area under this part of the project which will be instrumental in the industrial growth of the state.
Asserting that the decision had been taken in the interest of the people of the state, he said the only objective behind the move was to create more jobs for the youth and stop their exodus to other states to earn a livelihood.
The chief minister refuted BJP's charges that the state government has acquired fertile agricultural land of farmers in the name of industrial development under SIDCUL-II, and said the plot did not need to be acquired as it belonged to the state and was lying unused for years.
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He said the land in Sitarganj jail premises had been acquired by the previous BJP government in Uttarakhand for Rs 30 crore to develop a special economic zone in 2008.
Bahuguna said there was nothing wrong in utilising a piece of land lying unused for the purpose of industrial expansion and generating employment opportunities for the youth. MORE