Amid the ongoing hill-plain controversy in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said Uttarakhand is a place for all.
He said those promoting casteism or regionalism are not doing justice to the statehood agitators who sacrificed themselves for the formation of Uttarakhand and the nation as well.
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Calling on the people in Dehradun to commemorate the third anniversary of his government on Sunday, Dhami said Uttarakhand belongs to all those who live here. Social amity, peace and harmony are the driving force of Uttarakhand and people here live with mutual respect for each other.
Amid the unending controversy of hill-plain divide erupted with unparliamentary words used against hill residents by a former minister, he said those creating a divide among people are not doing good to the state.
It’s significant that former state finance minister Premchand Agarwal had to resign following massive agitation against him in the hills after the budget session in February. Agarwal had made an offensive statement against hill natives earning public wrath across the state.
Addressing the divisive controversy, the chief minister said the feeling of regionalism is against the desire of those who laid down their lives for the formation of the state. “Regionalism and caste-based divisions are detrimental to the growth of the state. Those who promote these divisive ideas do injustice not only to the leaders of statehood agitations and movements who sacrificed their lives for the formation of Uttarakhand but also to their own motherland. It must be stopped and the people of Uttarakhand citizens must join hands to work towards the development of the hill state,” said Uttarakhand Chief minister.
Dhami announced on the opening day of the three-day celebrations that his government would provide financial assistance to the students preparing for competitive examinations and graduates. “Besides this a dedicated platform will be created to enhance students’ employment-oriented skills through training. A high-level committee will be formed to implement the plan. A website will also be created to delineate modalities to move ahead with the plan.”
The Chief minister further announced to put in place “a concrete measure for permanent re-employment of ex-servicemen through Uttarakhand Purva-Sainik Kalyan Nigam Limited (UPNL) and contractual employees.”
He said his government has also decided to award contracts of the projects worth ₹10 crore to the local contractors of the state.
Dhami said Uttarakhand has overcome multiple challenges and hurdles to achieve success and remarkable milestones in the last three years, which are today resonating across the nation. He highlighted that the state was ranked top in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) index for 2023-24, recognition in the “Achievers” category for ease of doing business and the “Leaders” category in the startup rankings.
“Uttarakhand recorded a remarkable 4.4% decline in its unemployment rate, surpassing the national average. State’s GDP has seen a 13.59% growth while per capita income has increased by 11.33%, outperforming the national average,” he said.
Dhami claimed that his government has successfully fulfilled over 70% of the promises made in its 2022 assembly election vision document, and remaining commitments will also be completed in coming days.
