DEHRADUN, Mar 22: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said his Government faced several challenges related to demographic change in the state and affirmed that it will continue to take actions like removing encroachments and verification drive to address the issue during its tenure.
Giving a “report card” on the State Government’s performance over three years of his second term, he highlighted the implementation of independent India’s first Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the introduction of strict anti-conversion and anti-cheating laws and stern action against large-scale encroachment of Government land in the name of “mazaars and madrassas” as among the main achievements.
Dhami said his Government has tackled issues that were put on the back burner by previous Governments.
“Be it cases of land jihad, love jihad or spit jihad, we have not shied away from taking action in such cases. At the same time, we did not link it to any community,” he said at a press conference on the eve of completing three years of his second tenure as Uttarakhand Chief Minister.
“The action against mazaars built on encroached land and illegal madrassas will continue till Uttarakhand becomes totally encroachment-free. We won’t hesitate in launching a crackdown against anything illegal,” Dhami said.
He said a strict law against rioting was introduced to prevent any disturbances in the peace-loving state.
Uttarakhand became the first state in the country after independence to implement the UCC on January 27 this year, he noted.
Dhami, who took oath as the chief minister of the state for the second time in a row on March 23, 2022, said some of the worst disasters hit the state during his tenure and every time he lost no time in reaching ground zero and being in the midst of the affected people.
He gave the examples of the Silkyara tunnel collapse in 2023 in which all 41 trapped labourers were rescued alive after an enormous multi-agency rescue operation that lasted 17 days, the Kedar Valley disaster last year in which lakhs of people were evacuated to safety and the recent avalanche at a BRO camp in Mana village in which the lives of 46 out of a total of 54 workers were saved.
Dhami said he has asked the main departments to come up with “game-changer” schemes to deal with the challenges and realise the state’s growth potential over the next ten years.
He said the women of Uttarakhand will play a major role in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a developed India.
Products manufactured by the women of Uttarakhand villages and their impressive packaging under the House of Himalayas brand are being recognised across the country and abroad, Dhami said.
Women of Uttarakhand have been given 30 per cent reservation in Government jobs in the state, he said describing it as a major step towards their empowerment.
He said investment MoUs worth Rs 3.55 lakh crore were signed at the global investors summit held in Dehradun in 2023 out of which work on the implementation of MoUs worth Rs 80 thousand crore had begun already.
Describing investment as a thrust area, he said it would generate employment.
Dhami said his Government introduced the country’s strictest anti-copying law to prevent paper-leak of recruitment examinations. More than 100 people involved in facilitating the use of unfair means at recruitment examinations were put behind bars.
“It has created confidence among job aspirants who prepare hard for their examinations in the fairness of the recruitment process, Dhami said.
The Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his constant guidance and support in managing the affairs of the state.
He said the clearance given recently by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by the Prime Minister to two major ropeway projects from Sonprayag to Kedarnath and Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib will make the yatra for pilgrims especially the old and the elderly extremely convenient.
He also spoke of the expansion of Heli services to almost all major tourist destinations in the state. (PTI)
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