Uttarakhand CM holds meeting with NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, discusses state-related issues

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], October 19 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday held a meeting with NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Beri at the Secretariat on Saturday on important issues related to the state and said that Uttarakhand is a state with difficult geographical conditions.
The Chief Minister welcomed the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog to Devbhoomi Uttarakhand and during the meeting, he said that the state has mountainous, plain, Bhabar and Terai regions.

He said that disaster, forest fire, migration and floating population are big challenges in the state.
'Being adjacent to the international borders of two countries, Uttarakhand is a strategically important state," CM Dhami added.

He requested the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog to formulate policies keeping in mind the geographical conditions of the Himalayan states.
CM Dhami also requested to formulate a special policy to increase the livelihood of the people of the mountainous areas.
"This will solve a big problem like migration from the mountainous areas," he said.
The Chief Minister said that the state government is working on an ambitious project to connect snow-based rivers with rain-based rivers, its long-term results will prove to be a game changer.
"A lot of money is required for the implementation of "River Linking Project" for which he requested technical support from NITI Aayog," he added.

He said that the population of Uttarakhand is basically about 1.25 crore, but being a religious and tourist state, there is movement of 10 times more people in the state.
"Keeping in mind the floating population in the state, there is a need for development of basic and basic amenities," CM Dhami said.
He requested the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog to make a policy for the state keeping in mind the floating population in the state.
The Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand is a very sensitive state from the disaster point of view. Due to natural disasters, the state suffers a lot of loss of life and wealth every year. The infrastructure developed in the state is greatly affected due to natural disasters, he said.
Uttarakhand CM requested that a policy should be made keeping in mind the natural disasters of the state.
"The forest fire is also a big problem of the state. The state will need adequate resources to solve the challenges of forest fire in the state," Dhami said.

The Chief Minister also requested to make a special policy for the development of the border areas of the state.
The Chief Minister said that the state government started the 'Sashakt Uttarakhand Initiative' in the year 2022 to fulfill the resolve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a developed nation by the year 2047, under which the target has been set to double the economy of the state in the next five years.
"At present, we have increased the economy of the state by 1.3 times as compared to the year 2022. We have prepared short-term, medium-term and long-term roadmaps to achieve this target," he said.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Beri congratulated the Chief Minister on Uttarakhand getting the first position in the ranking of Sustainable Development Goals released by NITI Aayog.
He said that in today's meeting, the topics related to the major challenges of the state were discussed, and assured all possible cooperation on all these topics.
He said that every possible cooperation will also be given by NITI Aayog for the development of aspiring districts and development blocks of the state. (ANI)