Himalayan states come up with common agenda at Conclave in Mussoorie
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat told about the Himalayan Conclave organized in Mussoorie that this event has been successful. For the first time the participants of the Himalayan states took part in the event. He told that apart from Assam, representatives from 10 states joined the Himalayan Conclave. In which the division of Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister and representatives of other states were present.
Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said that the Himalayan Conclave mainly discussed disaster, water power, environmental services etc. He said that a common agenda was prepared by all Himalayan states and given to the Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. It has also been demanded by Himalayan states that green bonuses should be given for environmental services. Himalayan kingdom is the water column of the country, which will be effective in the Prime Minister’s water-power accumulation mission. For the protection and renewal of rivers, financial assistance should be given to the Himalayan states in the Centrally Sponsored Schemes. The 11 Hill States were lobbying for green bonuses in the Himalayan Conclave. The study report prepared for Green Accounting and Sustainable Environmental Performance Index in Uttarakhand has provided important data and facts. According to this report, the flow value of 18 forest services given to the country is 95.11 thousand crore, while the stock value of the three services has been estimated at Rs 14.13 lakh crore.The central government should cooperate in developing new tourist sites. In view of the country’s security, priority should be given to development of border areas to prevent migrations. This concern of the Himalayan states has also been given to the Union Finance Minister. There was consensus in the Himalayan Conclave that methods to prevent migration should be organized. Also, separate ministry for the Himalayan region should be constituted.
In this conference, assurances were given to the Himalayan states to be planned separately in the budget by the Policy Commission, the 15th Finance Commission and the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
