The residents of Joshimath and nearby areas have been demanding declaration of the area as a backward area for about four decades now. Most of them are disappointed with Chief Minister Harish Rawat ignoring this demand and talking instead about the formation of Auli development authority during his visit on the weekend. The locals fear that formation of this authority will facilitate the development of a concrete jungle in this area benefiting only a few contractors and politicians without doing much for the youth in the remote villages here.
The people residing in the border areas here were hopeful of a favourable announcement by the CM when he arrived here to inaugurate the Painkhanda Mahotsav on the weekend. However, their hopes were crashed as the CM stated that the long standing demand for declaring the area a backward area was still under consideration.
It is pertinent to mention here that before creation of Uttarakhand, during the time of undivided Uttar Pradesh, the youth of Joshimath and Ukhimath in Chamoli district along with the youth of Bhatwadi Tehsil in Uttarkashi district used to enjoy four per cent reservation with many of them succeeding in engineering and medical examinations. However, the provision for reservation for the youth of these three areas was discontinued with the creation of Uttarakhand State. Earlier, in 2014 the Chamoli district administration had sent a detailed 48-page report to the State OBC commission regarding the 40 year old demand of the residents of Painkhanda area for their inclusion in the Other Backward Class. However, no concrete action had been taken on the issue since then.
This is why the locals were eager to see if the CM had any announcement to make on this subject after inaugurating the Painkhanda fest. Rawat had to face some oppositions from locals on this issue and though the Badrinath MlA Rajendra Bhandari supported them, the CM stated simply that the issue was under consideration. The CM said that there are many areas in the State which have remained bereft of development but not all can be declared backward areas. The locals are questioning whether the areas declared backward in the past by the Congress government were categorized so with specific political benefit in mind.
The people of Joshimath point out that apart from it being a major stop on the route to Badrinath, this area is also near the international border area with Tibet making it strategically important. The economic status of the people in general in this area is not good. They point out that bulk of the land is with the army while the remaining land is affected by hydro power projects, leaving limited space to cultivate enough to earn well. The 2013 disaster has also affected the Char Dham Yatra which in turn has been detrimental to the livelihoods of many here. Due to such factors, the demand for declaring the area backward has been raised repeatedly from time to time in four decades.
Advocate Ramesh Chandra Sati said that the Supreme Court had also pointed out that caste alone cannot be made the basis for backwardness, adding that residents of socially, economically and educationally backward areas should also receive the OBC benefits. However, the State Government doesn’t appear in the mood for meeting the long standing demand of the Painkhanda residents.