Advocating a separate central policy for the Himalayan states, Uttarakhand Chief Minister R P Nishank today sought a special compensatory package from the Centre for preserving natural wealth of the hill state.
“We want a separate central policy for hill states, especially Uttarakhand, where a big mass of land comes under forest cover. Since we are preserving forests for the whole of the country, we must get special compensatory package,” Nishank told reporters here.
Nishank said his government’s estimate suggested that for preserving reserved forests, especially wildlife national parks, the government must get Rs 1,000-1,500 crore per year.
Nishank’s advocacy for separate Himalayan states came a day after the Planning Commission approved the annual plan outlay for Uttarakhand for the year 2009-10 at Rs 5,574.7 crore, which includes an additional assistance of Rs 400 crore for the next year Mahakumbh mela at Haridwar.
“I am thankful to Montek Singh Ahluwalia for accepting our proposal,” Nishank said.
Nishank also reiterated the demand for the extension of special industrial package till 2020 for Uttarakhand and said that the hill state should also get all the incentives that had been given to north-eastern states.
“Our state is also totally different due to its large forest cover as well as the long borders with China and Nepal,” Nishank said.
Later, officials told Business Standard that Nishank was keen to chalk out a joint action plan with other Himalayan states like Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir over the issue. For this purpose, Nishank would also hold talks with Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Significantly, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad also recently favoured a separate policy for three Himalayan states of J&K, Himachal and Uttarakhand.
