Uttarakhand State is entering the 15th year of its creation but the Government claims about development appear hollow, especially as the developmental activities have been limited largely to the towns. Villages in the mountainous regions and the plains are still awaiting the desired level of development with the villagers suffering due to lack of development as they were before the creation of Uttarakhand.
This was the view expressed at a Gaon Bachao seminar organised by Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) and attended by representatives of various organisations, intellectuals, Statehood activists, subject experts, prominent citizens and activists from across the State.
Addressing the gathering HESCO founder Dr Anil Prakash Joshi said that more than a decade after State formation, no political party had taken a serious initiative to resolve the problems being faced in villages of the State. He said, “It is due to government failure that the State Government is wanting to implement the PPP mode in all sectors. If all facilities are operated under the PPP mode, it will definitely increase exploitation of the public. The priority of the Government appears to be more on urbanisation while the rural society has lost much and gained nothing. The people living in villages 15 years ago are not there any more. We should review these 15 years and fix the responsibility of the Government and political parties towards the rights of villages. It appears as if the discontent in villages is giving rise to a new movement in Uttarakhand. Before creation of the State, the fight of the people for their rights was against people in lucknow and Delhi but now this fight is against our own sitting in Dehradun. The time has come for a big debate to be sparked on the betterment of villages and the State in the real sense,” he said.
Sohan lal, involved in the Dhari Devi temple movement, said that the company which constructed the Srinagar hydro power project had given false assurances to villagers in the area. He said, “Before construction of the dam, the company had assured that the Dhari Devi temple would be developed in to a more prominent pilgrimage centre and connect the project affected villages with the development mainstream. None of these assurances were fulfilled though the temple had to be shifted and the villages are under threat after construction of the dam. The company did not even facilitate rehabilitation of 31 scheduled caste families affected by the project,” he said.
Maletha Gram Pradhan Shurveer Singh said that the people of Maletha have been agitating for 10 months now against setting up of stone crushers in the fertile region. “The villagers are demanding removal of the stone crushers on the grounds that their operation will destroy the fertile irrigated agricultural land in the area but the government is ignoring the concern of the villagers and favouring the mafia, “ he said. Anti-dam activist Sushila Bhandari from Rudraprayag pointed out that 18 kilometre length of the Mandakini river will be diverted into a tunnel for the Singoli Bhatwadi power project which in turn will not only disturb the environmental balance but also ring the death knell for villages existing above the tunnel. Villagers and activists from Pauri, Pithoragarh, Jaunsar Bhabar tribal area, Askot, Almora, Jakholi, Uttarkashi and various organisations lambasted the government for favouring mining mafia and other unscrupulous elements making a profit at the cost of public welfare and the environment of Uttarakhand. It was decided in the meeting that a task force headed by AP Joshi would be formed at the grassroots and academic levels. Various other decisions were also taken in the meeting to facilitate the desired level of rural development in the State.