With the start of the ‘new’ year many in Uttarakhand are looking forward to positive changes while others remain pessimistic regarding the scope for positive developments. The year may have progressed but even without being cynical one can say that many of the problems being faced by the people and environment in Uttarakhand have changed little. Broadly speaking the issues being faced in the State can be categorised into environmental or economic issues.
As in many Indian States, migration of the people from the villages to urban areas and the need to strike the right balance between environmental conservation and developmental activities are major issues facing Uttarakhand. However, the migration of people from the rural mountainous regions of Uttarakhand to the urban areas in the plains appears a little peculiar. As is known and often publicised by the State Government too, there is immense scope for boosting the regional economy by developing agriculture, horticulture and cultivation of medicinal and aromatic herbs in the mountainous regions. Efforts towards achieving this by both governmental and non-governmental bodies have become more visible in recent years. Chief Minister Harish Rawat has made an attempt to come up with schemes to boost both the economy and environment. However, the State is yet to improve its marketing of the State’s products, for example, the tasty apples of Harshil in Uttarkashi district. Many say that these apples are much better than the ‘famous’ apples of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and yet even though cold storage facility was developed, no major development has been achieved towards increasing the market share and popularity of the Harshil apples.
When it comes to achieving the right balance between developmental activities and environmental conservation, it would be more conducive to comprehend that developmental and environmental concerns do not necessarily have to be treated as separate issues. If we define ‘development’ as improvement in the state of social, economic and infrastructural systems, we can agree that achieving this would be of little benefit if the State replicates Delhi - with its toxic air and traffic snarls. Social, economic and infrastructural development can be achieved without destroying the environment and there are places in India and abroad where this has been exemplified.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the advent of 2016 has also brought the State closer to the Assembly elections slated to be held in 2017. As has been stated also by leaders of the ruling party, the State Government will now have to focus more on ensuring execution of development works especially the developments promised in the election manifesto. The State Government will have to deliver the goods in the face of alterations in the Central funding pattern in order to improve its chances of re-election.
On the other hand, the Opposition has taken its enthusiasm to oppose up a notch or two with a new State chief of the main Opposition party expected to bring about the desired change in political fortunes. Considering varied allegations of scams and questionable activities as seen recently in the case of Nari Niketan where some inmates have died and some hospitalised, there is no dearth of issues to perpetuate the cycle of allegations, justifications and counter-allegations. Though there is a general tendency to take up issues - especially controversial ones, with a political angle in mind, there comes a time when the politics has to be kept aside or at least sidelined to facilitate the desired welfare of the State and its people. This appears tough in Uttarakhand where factionalism is known to affect both the Congress and the BJP. Political, environmental and social activists active in the mountainous regions state that the mood of the public in general appears to be neither in favour of the Congress nor the BJP. Many in the rural mountainous regions feel that neither of the two national parties has achieved the desired level of development on being elected to govern the State. While the political parties tackle their issues, it might be better if we the non-political citizens adopt an attitude that remains at a distance from the extremes of optimism and pessimism. When it comes to environment and the state of law and order, we in Uttarakhand still have it a lot better than in many other Indian States in addition to the strong presence of ‘religion’ or spiritual belief system in the society.
One need not be a rocket scientist or necessarily build a ‘smart city’ in order to enjoy the benefits of a welfare State. For this, sooner or later, individuals, organisations and the people themselves have to wake up!