Stressing on the need for striking a balance between the environment and development, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said that an action plan should be prepared from a scientific point of view to ensure that the people in the mountains and border areas also benefit from development.
A common policy should be prepared for uniform development of the entire Himalayan region, he said while speaking at the inauguration of a two-day workshop on mountain meteorology and landslides at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology here on Monday.
He said that after the June disaster, greater importance would be accorded to suggestions from scientists, environmentalists and experts while undertaking redevelopment of the State. For this, the State Government had formed a committee of experts including Dr RK Pachauri and other prominent environmentalists.
Stating that the entire Himalayan area was weather sensitive, the CM stressed on the need for development of an early warning system in order to warn people about earthquakes, cloud bursts, heavy rainfall or any other extreme weather condition in advance. He said that effective precautions could be undertaken if the information was area specific and not general.
Bahuguna averred that the focus had shifted to drafting long term policies instead of drafting plans for the short term. All possible relief was being provided to the disaster affected persons, he further claimed. “Uttarakhand suffers major losses to its roads due to landslides every year. Several landslide sensitive roads in the State have also been identified. Discussions are on to consider construction of alternate routes and tunnels to bypass the landslide prone areas,” said the CM while promising that long term planning will be done before making any policy.
Affirming that Uttarakhand is a tourism-based State, he said the number of tourists would be regulated and restricted. Planning is also being done to build separate roads for entry and exit to and from important tourist destinations. Bahuguna urged the experts and scientists present at the workshop to discuss the challenges being faced by the state and offer solutions for the same. He said the solution ought to be such that it was not a threat to the environment and also met the development aspirations of the locals. There was need for proper studies of the mountains, rivers, glaciers, etc. He said that Uttarakhand shared its border with China and Nepal and thus migration of people from border areas owing to lack of development could affect national security.
Earlier, the WIHG director Anil K Gupta welcomed the gathering to the workshop while scientist VK Tiwari proposed the vote of thanks.