The Uttarakhand government is strictly dealing with people who are playing tricks with ‘innocent minor sisters and daughters’, says Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in an exclusive conversation with The Hindu. Mr. Dhami says that as a ‘Pradhan Sewak”, it is his responsibility to call out wrong and support what is right. Excerpts:
There is a visible surge in cases of communal hatred and tensions in Uttarakhand in couple of years. What do you see as a reason behind these?
I don’t think you are right in saying that communal tension has increased in our State. I believe that when a State develops, many people from outside come to the place and the same is happening in Uttarakhand. Some of these people get accustomed to the culture and customs of this place while many are unable to associate themselves with the thoughts and religious practices here and this is when the problem arises.
Some people are playing tricks with our innocent minor sisters and daughters. I have made this clear that we will not let this happen. Irrespective of any religion, we will deal with such people strictly.
India as well as Uttarakhand do not promote any kind of hatred because our culture is not like that.
The draft of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is almost ready. Have you ever spoken to the committee? Do you think this is right time to bring the UCC?
There are so many senior people in the committee and I have full faith that their report will be in accordance with the sentiments enshrined in the Constitution by Dr. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. What I could say as a ‘Pradhan Sewak’ (chief servant) is that my government will start implementation of the UCC as soon as we get the report. The committee has promised to submit the report by the end of this month or early July.
The UCC is clearly mentioned in the Constitution’s Section 44 and even the Supreme Court has asked the States to implement it many times in the past. Uttarakhand is a State which is surrounded by two international borders and it is also a State that has a great population of soldiers who are in various defence services. This is a State of Ganga and Yamuna, it is Devbhoomi. So the UCC was part of our manifesto and we are on it now, with full support of the people.
You have been very vocal on issues like ‘Love Jihad’, ‘land Jihad’ etc. How do you think that this impacts the State’s development?
‘To Aap ye Kehna Chahti Hai Ki Mai Iske Upar Kuch Zyada Bol Raha Hu [So you are trying to say that I am speaking too much on these issues.]‘
It is the responsibility of the Pradhan Sewak to call wrong as wrong and support what is right. The development of the State is not going to hamper by talking about all this.
This is true that many problems have arisen in the State because of all these activities. You know how illegal encroachment on forest and other government land had increased a lot here in the past. My government has launched a campaign to remove them and got about 3,000 hectares of land vacated.
We also care about those living here for the past many years and hence a Cabinet sub-committee has been formed to find a way to provide ownership to such people.
But in any case, my government will not let anyone take the law into their own hands.
Do you think the government took long to understand the crisis at Joshimath? Would you like to brief us about measures being taken at present, when monsoon has arrived?
Joshimath was a natural calamity which was spontaneous. Uttarakhand witnesses many types of natural disasters every year which include landslips, excess rainfall, snowfall, avalanche and even road accidents. This is how the geography of the State is. So, you can’t say that it took us long to sense the disaster at Joshimath.
This is true that Joshimath got too much media hype but with the blessings of Lord Badri, not a single loss of life was reported from the calamity. Yes, people had to bear a lot of trouble due to the disaster. However, the State government, with the full support of the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was prompt enough to make policies of rehabilitation, both permanent and temporary.
As far as monsoon is concerned, not only Joshimath but our government is ready to tackle situation across the State. I personally keep a tab on all the disaster management-related works. Alerts have been issued and I am monitoring the situation 24x7.
A large number of people are reaching Uttarakhand and reports of traffic, garbage mess, and pollution are frequent. How the State is planning to tackle the population?
The total population of Uttarakhand is 1.25 crore but the State is visited by at least seven crore people every year. All the new plans are being done keeping next 25 years in mind. We must not forget that the population that has increased today will never decrease, it will only rise. We are laying the elevated road from Delhi to Dehradun which will cut short travel time between two places to 2.5 hours. So the footfall of tourists will obviously increase. We are continuously speaking with the NITI Aayog and the Government of India to help us in making a foolproof plan for parking, accommodation, transport, roads etc.
Where do you see Uttarakhand under your leadership in five years?
The Prime Minister had said from the land of Lord Kedar that the third decade of the 21st century would be the decade of Uttarakhand. Even I think that the ‘divine’ time for Uttarakhand has come. You will see in the next five to 10 years that Uttarakhand will be among the best States of the country. We are continuously working to progress in sectors such as tourism. We are making a record in Chardham Yatra, Kanwar Yatra. We are doing good in the horticulture sector, solar energy, home stays, animal husbandry, fisheries to name a few.
