A former police officer who has fallen in love with Uttarakhand in a year in office, Governor KK Paul offers three remedies to pull the State out of the morass it finds itself in: building infrastructure, raising the standards of higher education and improving marketing channels
Enjoyable in a meaningful way” is how the Governor of Uttarakhand Dr Krishan Kant Paul describes his first year in office. And as one reflects over the work that the current constitutional head of the State has done towards this role, there emerges a dynamic man who loves the people of Uttarakhand and values his duty to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law”. From overnight stays in faraway hill areas for understanding the State at grass root level to making appointments to crucial posts that were lying vacant for many years, Paul has been zestful about improving the well-being of the people of the State during his tenure.
In an exclusive interview to Anupma Khanna, Governor KK Paul spelled out building infrastructure, raising the standards of higher education and high-powered action to provide marketing channels and support to hill farmers and artisans as the topmost needs for Uttarakhand.
“During my visit to Munsiyari (in April, 2015), I spoke to a large number of locals. And one of them came to me and narrated that he had produced 50 kg of a very expensive and exclusive variety of Bulgarian Rose oil but when he went to Delhi to sell it, he got cheated. This case highlights a major stumbling block in the economic progress of the people of Uttarakhand. I have observed that people in the hills are very sincere in their approach and are keen to progress in life. However, they lack essential infrastructure. For example, local weavers in the State produce some of the finest cashmere but they are living in economic hardship as there is no one to properly market their products so that they get good prices for their produce.”
“Micro, small and medium enterprises need to be given robust marketing aid along with capacity building. Also, Uttarakhand is a natural crowd-puller for religious tourism but the State should also be able to offer up to the mark facilities to visitors to boost local economy. Despite their strong will, people of Uttarakhand might not be able to ameliorate their living standards,” Paul told The Pioneer.
The second biggest challenge confronting the State, in his opinion, is the unsatisfactory standard of higher education, as a result of which Uttarakhand will face difficulty in channelising the tremendous youth energy in the State properly. This relates closely to the big question that India is facing - How successful will India be in reaping its demographic dividend and the connected issues of informal and formal sector skill gap assessment, skill needs and multi-agency efforts to meet skill development demands.
“We must not let our youth feel that the State does not have much to offer to them as this disappointment will alienate them. I have been meeting vice-chancellors of various universities here and emphasising that they have one of the most important roles in the country as they are the custodians of our youth,” observed the Governor.
Asked for three important measures that could give a facelift to higher education in the State, Paul suggested stringent monitoring through surprise checks, encouraging research in universities and expanding the role of teachers beyond academics by developing them into mentors and life-coaches. “I have been asking V-Cs and other concerned officials to constitute teams for conducting surprise inspection of various affiliated colleges to ensure that the educational infrastructure and standards claimed on paper exist in reality as well,” informed the Governor.
Son of a distinguished Cambridge-educated chemist, Paul had developed an inclination for study of chemistry naturally and did his Ph.D thesis in Fluorine chemistry. Research is an important way of exploring and achieving one’s highest potential and universities in the State need to provide impetus to this, opined the Governor.
Reminiscing about his days as a researcher, Paul shared, “In those days, people from science streams hardly joined civil services. And the years of my Ph.D were a period of intense hard work. During those years, I used to reach the laboratory at sharp 8 am, be it summer, winter or rain. The official time for the lab to open was 8:30 am, I always arrived half an hour early. I took only one lunch break for half an hour, squeezed time in the evening for learning German and left the lab around 8 pm.” Music from those days of yore is still close to the Governor’s heart, “College days leave an indelible mark on us and I love listening to songs of the sixties - from my student years.”
In the year 2000, Paul, who was the then Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Delhi, led the first-ever crack-down on match-fixing in India - the cricket betting racket in which South African captain Hansie Cronje was indicted. He considers this as one of his big achievements.
However, happiness for Governor Paul comes with meeting good people. And instead of being influenced by any one popular figure, the man of refined taste likes to observe the goodness in ordinary people.