The State Government should make public the status of Government land and estates allocated for various purposes to ascertain whether the land has been used as intended. The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay has made this request in a letter to Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
Addressing the Media here at the Congress Bhawan on Monday, the PCC chief said that he had written to the Chief Minister raising various important issues. Upadhyay said that considering the allegations of anomalies related to land are leveled at the Government, he has requested the Chief Minister that the State Government should make public the status and other details pertaining to all the Government lands allocated to various persons and bodies for different purposes since 1990 to the present.
It should also be ascertained whether the allocated lands are being used for the original purpose for which it was allotted by the Government to any institution or individual. These relevant details regarding the government lands should be made public. In case any such allocated Government land is found to being utilised for any purpose other than the one for which it was allocated, the allocation should be cancelled for misuse of government lands.
The PCC chief further said that in his letter to he CM he had also referred to the detrimental effects on the environment of the lakhs of tourists and pilgrims from outside Uttarakhand who travel in their own vehicles to the various tourist spots and pilgrimage centres in Uttarakhand.
Eliciting the focus of the CM on the need for according special focus to environmental aspects, Upadhyay has suggested that Dehradun, Vikasnagar, Doiwala, Haldwani, Ramnagar, Kashipur, Rudrapur and Rishikesh should be connected with metro rail line especially to provide a convenient alternative to the private vehicles in which tourists visit the State. This will not only mitigate the environmental damage being caused by vehicular pollution but will also present convenient transportation for the visitors.
He said that though such a metro rail project would cost many crores of rupees, it would also generate employment opportunity for the unemployed in Uttarakhand. Replying to a Media query, the PCC chief averred that the differences among party workers regarding the State Government’s coalition partner-Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) have been resolved now with the Congress workers making consolidated efforts for the elections.
On being asked about the film clip going viral on social media showing the Khanpur MlA Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ dancing with a gun in each hand, the party State chief said that the occasion shown in the clip is long past. Had there been anything wrong in the actions of the MlA as shown in the brief clipping, necessary action would have been taken, averred Upadhyay.