Acting on the State Government’s commitment to stop the trend of migration from the hill areas to the plains in search of better livelihood opportunities and other facilities, the State Tourism Minister and Palayan Samadhan Samiti (migration solution committee) chairman Satpal Maharaj has convened a meeting with district administrations through video conferencing in Dehradun on Wednesday and sought suggestions from the district magistrates and others over the steps required to be taken to halt migration. Notably, the State Government had constituted Palayan Samadhan Committee with Satpal Maharaj as its chairman and comprising two other members- Dr Dhan Singh Rawat and Rekha Arya, both ministers. The Minister informed that the suggestions by the DMs and the secretaries of the departments concerned would be sent either through correspondence of e-mail mygovmysuggestion@gmail.com or through SMS on 9084643548 or correspondence at the office of Palayan Samadhan Samiti housed at room no 8 in the Vidhan Sabha premises in Dehradun.
The Minister stressed on the Char Dham Yatra continuing throughout the year to help the locals earn money –something which he said would deter them from migrating. “After the portals of the four shrines are closed for the winter with the deities being taken to other places, the flow of the pilgrims does not stop. Keeping this in view, the State Government is laying thrust on keeping the momentum continuing during the winter months too,” he said. Notably, the deity of Yamunotri is kept at Kharsali, that of Gangotri at Mukhwa, that of Kedarnath at Ookhimath and that of Badrinath at Pandukeshwar during the winter months.
The Minister said that the State Government is determined to keep the four-shrine pilgrimage continuing all the year round. “This is an imperative to help the locals who run eateries and cater to the other needs of the pilgrims earn money all through the year. To ensure that things run smoothly, the State Government would recruit tourist police. Equipped with detailed information, they would help the pilgrims who need information. Besides, we would develop other places which would prove to be winter destinations for the pilgrims/tourists,” Maharaj said. He asked the district administrations to allocate the required funds to generate employment as a means for stopping migration. Furthermore, he asked the DMs to ensure that the villagers in the remote rural areas get the basic amenities like education, health, drinking water and the like.
Additional Chief Secretary Omprakash stressed that integrating other welfare projects with the principal ones would yield better result. “Depending on the characters of the regions, we can promote agriculture, horticulture and mining as the primary sectors. Thrust on cottage industry and service sector would prove helpful too. We should promote home stay so that the local people would get consistent flow of money at their doorsteps. Besides, foreign investment can be encouraged. For this, air connectivity must be improved in the State so as to enable the people to come and return fast without spending hours on road transportation,” he said.
Principal secretary Planning Dr Umakant Panwar said that after a survey involving 6000 families was conducted negative growth was found in Pauri and Almora districts. “The survey ascribed the migration to lack of opportunities related to employment, education and health,” he said.
Principal Secretary MSME Manisha Panwar stressed on promotion of horticulture through cluster, food processing and tea tourism. Uttaranchal Utthan Parishan chairman Ram Prakash Painulu said that non- resident panchayats, gramotsav and land consolidation can prove instrumental in checking migration. Secretary revenue Harvansh Singh Chugh suggested that incentives given for installing small industries and promoting contract farming would go a long way in restraining migration.