The Modi Government is not averse to setting up a separate Union Ministry for the Hill States in the Himalayan region, an idea which the Vajpayee regime too had considered.
According to BJP sources, the proposal has already been discussed and ‘circulated’ within the party forum. Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank last week moved a private member’s Bill on the issue and it saw support coming from TMC MP Saugata Roy too. While supporting the idea of a separate Ministry, Roy advocated the inclusion of Darjeeling also in its ambit. “With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on Himalayas, the proposal could see the light of the day during the current regime,” sources maintained.
The BJP Government is focused on ‘preserving and improving’ environmental, geological, cultural and economic ‘richness’ of the Himalayan belt with Modi himself paying special attention to the region having ‘strategic’ importance with international borders, sources said. The proposal was discussed and ‘circulated’ in the party forum and could ‘fructify at some stage.’
The former Uttarakhand Chief Minister maintained that several MPs cutting across party lines, including those from the North-East, have sought a separate Ministry to deal with the unique issues concerning the vast swathe of hill States. “Modi is paying special attention to the region as is also reflected in his speeches during elections and thereafter as Prime Minister, his future vision for Himalaya is clear,” he told The Pioneer.
Roy termed it a ‘good idea’. When asked whether such a Ministry could be a possibility, he said, “It is for the BJP to say.” “The Central Government is a sovereign power, it can make it,” he maintained.
Roy was of the view that Darjeeling too could be included in such an arrangement. He said these regions have their own problems of earthquakes, floods, rampant illegal construction and deforestation among others. “The area has been neglected for too long”, he said. As a suggestion, the TMC MP from Dum Dum said it would be better to name it a Ministry for Himalayan Area not for States.
Pokhriyal said a separate Ministry should be dealing with ‘11 hill States’ across Himalayan range that besides Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh would include States of Kashmir, ladakh and North-Eastern region like Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
The former Chief Minister described the region as ‘Asia’s water tower’ where dozens of key rivers including Ganga originate. He stressed that a dedicated Ministry was needed to formulate a separate set of policies to affectively deal with the issues which could not receive the desired attention of successive Governments at the Centre. All these 11 States combined have a total population of over 7.13 crore and elect 40 MPs to lok Sabha, he pointed out.
He said in 1992, the Planning Commission had discussed the issue and it was proposed that a Trans Himalayan Board be constituted. The proposal was to have two Ministers with Prime Minister at its head. The NDA regime during Atal Bihari Vajpyee also gave the idea consideration but for one or other reason could not take it to its logical end.