Uttarakhand: Leading the road to transformation in India

Pushkar Dhami

Once a part of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand is now emerging as one of the fastest growing states in India, thanks to the massive growth in capital investment arising from conducive industrial policy and generous tax benefits. It has opened its doors to industries from across the globe to invest in the state and be a part of the constant growth of the hill state. Tarannum Manjul of Elets News Network (ENN) takes a look at some of the biggest projects launched in Uttarakhand, that will transform the state in days to come.

The year 2022 has brought in a host of gifts for Uttarakhand. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a host of gifts for the state on December 30, 2021, he ushered in an era of development in the state. The prime minister laid the foundation stone for 11 development projects.

Project Details

The Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor (from Eastern Peripheral Expressway Junction to Dehradun) will be built at a cost of around Rs 8,300 crore. It will significantly reduce the travel time from Delhi to Dehradun from six hours to around 2.5 hours. It will have seven major interchanges for connectivity to Haridwar, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Yamunagar, Baghpat, Meerut and Baraut. It will have Asia’s largest wildlife elevated corridor (12 km) for unrestricted wildlife movement. Also, the 340 metre-long tunnel near Daat Kaali temple, Dehradun will help reduce impact on wildlife, the PMO said.Further, multiple animal passes have been provided in the Ganeshpur- Dehradun section to avoid animal- vehicle collisions. The Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor will also have arrangements for rainwater harvesting at intervals of 500 metres and over 400 water recharge points.

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The greenfield alignment project from Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor, connecting Halgoa, Saharanpur to Bhadrabad, Haridwar will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 2,000 crore. It will provide seamless connectivity and reduce travel time from Delhi to Haridwar as well.

The Haridwar Ring Road Project from Manoharpur to Kangri, to be built at a cost of over Rs 1600 crore, will give a respite to residents from traffic congestion in Haridwar city, especially during peak tourist season, and also improve connectivity with Kumaon zone, the PMO said.

The Dehradun-Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) road project, to be constructed at a cost of around Rs 1,700 crore, will reduce travel time and provide seamless connectivity between the two places. It will also boost inter-state tourism.

The Nazimabad-Kotdwar road widening project will reduce travel time and also improve connectivity to Lansdowne.

A bridge across the River Ganga, next to the Lakshman Jhula, will also be constructed. The world-renowned Lakshman Jhula was constructed in 1929, but has now been closed due to decreased load carrying capacity. The bridge to be constructed will have provision of a glass deck for people walking, and will also allow light weight vehicles to move across, the statement said.

The prime minister also laid the foundation stone for the Child Friendly City Project, Dehradun to make the roads safer for children. Foundation stones for projects related to the development of water supply, road and drainage system in Dehradun, at a cost of over Rs 700 crore, were also laid. In line with PM Modi’s vision to develop smart spiritual towns and upgrade tourism-related infrastructure, the foundation stone for infrastructure development works at Shri Badrinath Dham and Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham were laid. A new medical college in Haridwar will also be constructed at a
cost of over Rs 500 crore, it said.

The PM also inaugurated projects to make hill travel safer. Among these projects is the landslide mitigation project at Lambagad (which is en-route the Badrinath Dham), and chronic landslide treatment at Sakanidhar, Srinagar and Devprayag on NH-58. The Lambagad landslide mitigation project in the chronic landslide zone includes construction of reinforced earth wall and rockfall barriers. The location of the project further adds to its strategic significance.

Narendra Modi

Other projects like the road widening projects were also inaugurated, from Devprayag to Srikot, and from Brahmpuri to Kodiyala on NH-58, under Chardham road connectivity project, the PMO said. The 120 MW Vyasi Hydroelectric Project, built over River Yamuna at a cost of over Rs 1700 crore, was inaugurated, along with a Himalayan Culture Centre in Dehradun. The Himalayan Culture Centre will house a state-level museum, 800 seat art auditorium, library, conference hall, etc. which will help people follow cultural activities as well as appreciate cultural heritage of the state.

Attractive Tourist Destination

Uttarakhand is situated in the foothills of Himalayas. The presence of several hill stations, wildlife parks, pilgrimage places and trekking routes makes Uttarakhand an attractive tourist destination. It is also a well-renowned religious and wildlife tourism destination. The topography in Uttarakhand ranges from foothills and plains to higher snow-clad mountains, thus including almost all major climatic zones conducive to agro-horticulture. In 2019, domestic tourist inflow in the state stood at 37.58 million, while foreign tourist visits crossed over 0.15 million. In 2018, 27.81 lakh pilgrims arrived in the state for Chardham Yatra, out of which 7.32 lakh pilgrims visited Kedarnath. Between 2015-16 and 2019-20, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) expanded at a CAGR of 9.39% to reach Rs. 2.54 trillion (US$
35.99 billion).

Main Growth Drivers

The main growth drivers in the economy have been identified as hill agriculture, with emphasis on horticulture, including aromatic and medicinal plants (promoted by AYUSH) and tourism to improve productivity and create sustainable livelihood, especially for people in the higher reaches of the state. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is cross- cutting across all other sectors, due to its employment generation potential, and is hence, extremely important in the growth strategy of the state.

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Simultaneous efforts to develop two other sectors—renewable energy in the form of small hydro-power and expansion of IT to all parts of the state economy—will make the growth plan sustainable and strengthen its fundamentals. Uttarakhand as a state, has great potential for the clean option of hydro-power.

The IT sector has consolidated strengths in the state by digitising many public services, especially provision through the Common Service Centres (CSCs), under the e-Governance programme. It has also established convenient WiFi services for promotion of tourism in the state and is expanding mobile and internet connectivity throughout the state among its other achievements.

According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow stood at about US$ 710 million, from April 2000 and June 2020. Between October 2019 and March 2021, FDI inflows in Uttarakhand stood at US$ 20.20 million. As of May 2020, 11 Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandums (IEMs) worth Rs 288 crore (US$ 39.10 million) have been filed in Uttarakhand.

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