Environmentalist Dr Anil Prakash Joshi said the condition of the villages in the State is far worse than what it was before the State was carved out of Uttar Pradesh.
His encounter with about 816 villages spread across the State under the Gaon Bachao Andolan undertaken under the banner of Himalayan Unity Mission has borne witness to the fast worsening conditions in the rural parts of the State, he said.
“Things look pathetic against the backdrop that the villages are keeping the country alive for ages, providing food and preserving heritage and culture,” he said while addressing a programme held at Matri Sadan on Monday.
Joshi informed that they had approached 816 villages located under 46 blocks in all the 13 districts of the State in course of the month-long yatra. “What we saw is the abysmal negligence of the political leaders towards the well-being of the villagers who sweat to feed us and help the nation’s heritage to thrive,” he rued.
“The tragedy is that the ministers and the MlAs frame policies for rural development from inside
air-conditioned rooms. The villagers have no role in the framing of policies being envisaged for their well-being. This runs counter to the essential ethos of democracy. Now, the time has come when we must review what we have obtained over the past fifteen years of the State’s formation,” he said.
He said they have failed to provide the basic facilities like drinking water, education and health service. Over the mining issue, Joshi said that the State Government should constitute a mining corporation on the lines of the forest corporation.
Head of Matri Sadan, Swami Shivanand said that the State Government had failed on all fronts. “The migration of the villagers from the hills in search of better life in terms of good earning, education and health would be irreversible unless the State Government mends its ways,” he said.
Over his threatened fasting on illegal mining issue, he said that a messenger from district magistrate HC Semwal had approached Matri Sadan. “DM Haridwar has asked for two days to stop such mining and to cancel the lease issued,” he added.