Dehradun : Uttarakhand is celebrating its 25th Foundation Day on 9th November. In such a situation, the question arises that what has the state achieved in the last 24 years. The demands and promises of new districts in the state have remained the center of discussion for more than a decade. On Independence Day on August 15, 2011, the then Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank gave a new dimension to the expectations of the people by announcing 4 new districts in the state.
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had announced creation of 2 new districts each in Garhwal and two Kumaon divisions. It was promised to give the status of new districts from Uttarkashi to Yamunotri, Pauri to Kotdwar, Pithoragarh to Didihat, and Almora to Ranikhet. But this happiness did not last long, because this announcement remained limited to mere promises.
The dream of a new district is dashed again
Immediately after the announcement of Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the demand for making Kashipur a new district also intensified. This city of Udham Singh Nagar district had even started a mass movement for this demand. Seeing the public demand, Nishank also agreed to recognize Kashipur as a new district. However, during that time, there was turmoil in the politics of Uttarakhand and Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri became the Chief Minister. In 2011, before the assembly elections, he issued a government order regarding the formation of new districts, but despite this, no arrangement for the budget was made and the dream of a new district was once again dashed.
District Reorganization Commission formed in 2012
After Congress came to power in 2012, Vijay Bahuguna became the Chief Minister. During his tenure, he constituted a commission for the reorganization of districts, but this commission could not take concrete steps towards new districts. This decision also failed to fulfill the expectations of the public.
Harish Rawat had promised 9 districts
The issue of new districts of Uttarakhand became the main weapon of politics. After coming to power, the then Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat announced 9 new districts instead of 5. He also set a budget of Rs 100 crore for this scheme, but this amount also proved to be insufficient to realize the dream of formation of districts.
Every party cheated the public
Local18 interviewed senior journalist S.M.A. Talked to Kazmi regarding this issue. He said that when Uttarakhand became a state in the year 2000, there were many local demands behind it. The demand for new districts has been rising every time. All the former Chief Ministers of the state made many announcements regarding this. From the point of view of administration, small units are good, but the question is whether they are doing better work. All I have to say is that such issues have always been political in the state. All the parties used the issues of new districts only to capitalize on them politically and not from the point of view of development.
Announcements became an election issue
Formation of new districts in Uttarakhand has been a pending issue since the establishment of the state. Be it a BJP government or a Congress government, this issue comes up before every election. Despite repeated announcements, this dream is still unfulfilled. The question arises whether these announcements will remain just an election issue in future or will the dream of new districts really come true.
Tags: Dehradun news, Local18, Uttarakhand news
FIRST PUBLISHED : November 9, 2024, 12:38 IST
