The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders here have strongly objected to the State Government submitting its proposal to the Centre for constructing a smart city on tea estate gardens in Dehradun.
The communist leaders said that the State Government should facilitate revival of tea-gardens in the region to boost employment apart from being concerned about the environment of Dehradun. They also lambasted the State Government for the incidence of sexual exploitation of inmates of the Nari Niketan in the State capital.
Alleging that the State Government is trying to dodge its responsibility related to the sexual exploitation of the inmates of the government institution, they demanded that legal action should be initiated also against the influential persons involved in this crime.
CPI (M) leader Vijay Rawat alleged that the execution of the proposed Dehradun smart city project on the tea-estates is aimed at providing ulterior benefit to real estate and other related businesses linked with politicians of both the Congress and BJP. He stressed that the CPIM was in favour of facilitating the revival of the tea-gardens in the area so that employment opportunities are generated for the locals apart from increase in revenue income of the State. Several people should not be left unemployed and homeless as a result of the works planned in the name of the smart city project, he stressed.
Speaking on the occasion, the party’s Pachwadoon committee secretary and former district Panchayat chairman Shiv Prasad Devli alleged that the State Government is conspiring to take possession of the tea-estate lands through actions based on questionable propositions. He said that while proposals are passed in the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun board for construction of smart city on the tea gardens that are located in the district Panchayat area, the district and local Panchayat are being sidelined.
Devli further alleged that the State Government was not seeking the views of the local residents because the people are in favour of conserving the tea-estates and opposed to the proposed construction of Dehradun smart city in this area.
He said that the CPI (M) will undertake a public awareness campaign focused on issues like revival of tea-gardens, land ownership rights to the people living there and the conservation of environment.