Make specific policies for Himalayan states, CM Dhami requests in NITI Aayog meeting

Excelsior Correspondent

NEW DELHI, July 27: Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today said that some proposals related to the development of Himalayan states were put forward in the last meeting of NITI Aayog and requested to make specific policies in the context of Himalayan states on those proposals.
While participating in the NITI Aayog’ meeting, CM Dhami said that Uttarakhand is also continuously working towards fulfilling the goal of Viksit Bharat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Uttarakhand is a very sensitive state in terms of disaster, keeping this in view, he thanked the Prime Minister for making special financial provision in this year’s Union Budget.
Dhami said that a serious crisis of drinking water has been seen in many cities of the country, to solve this problem, there is a need to work on water conservation along with increasing the ground water level.
“For this, Spring and River Rejuvenation Authority has been formed in Uttarakhand, which is working on the project of water conservation and reviving water sources and connecting snow-based rivers with rain-based rivers,” he said and requested special financial assistance and technical support from the Central Government for this.
Dhami said that for a Viksit Bharat, there is a need to promote entrepreneurship in rural areas, for which cluster based incubation centers and growth centers will prove to be important. Two rural incubation centers and 110 growth centers have been established in Uttarakhand as a pilot project.
He requested the Central Government for technical and financial support to set up incubation centers.
To meet the energy shortage, the Chief Minister requested the states to allow the approval and implementation of hydropower projects of less than 25 MW capacity and to implement the proposed 24 percent capital subsidy for the construction of small hydropower projects in the Himalayan states along with the North-Eastern states.
The Chief Minister also requested to include lift irrigation in the guidelines of ‘PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana’.