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The priority of Narayan Dutt Tiwari, the Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, has been the complete, integrated development of the State in tune with its unique ecology and environment. Excerpts from an interview:
Having taken over the reins of the State in 2002, you are halfway through your term. How would you describe your journey so far? What are your major achievements?
You must remember that when I took over, even basic infrastructure such as administrative machinery and manpower resources was not in place. We had to begin from the very basics. There were several political challenges on the way but I still tried to get through those turbulent times by achieving political consensus and without creating too many unnecessary controversies. My endeavour has been to take the State to great heights, develop it on the model of Himachal Pradesh - taking people along our journey, working for all sections of people without any discrimination on the basis of caste, class or religion.
Since Uttaranchal comprises both plain and hill areas, our problems too are typical, which need innovative solutions. Our motto has been "integrated development for all". There have been some drawbacks, some failures here and there, but on the whole the progress has been satisfactory. It was a new State, there were demands galore, there were expectations unlimited, and it was our endeavour to cater to all those demands, meet all aspirations as far as possible, and still maintain our sanity.
In your long journey, first as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, then as a Union Minister and now as Uttaranchal Chief Minister, you must have faced many political challenges. When you look back, do you regret anything?
Challenges have been many and in various forms. But I have always maintained my cool, never allowed anger to take over me because anger destroys one's wisdomConstructive criticism is always welcome but I have always tried to steer clear of unnecessary controversies I am forever trying to improve myself and my work in order to make them useful for the people.
Tourism has great potential here. What has your government done to develop tourism?
We have provided industry status to tourism. My endeavour has been to develop tourism in such a way that it helps the common man. Resorts such as Ananda might earn great international repute, but how do they help the rural poor? Tourism should be developed in such a way that local people gain from it. I have tried to promote dhyaan kutirs, yoga kutirs and chintan kendras, which are developed by the local people with money borrowed from banks and other financial institutions at low interest rates. The State government too helps them in this venture. We are trying to develop new tourist circuits in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions. The infrastructure in important tourist places such as Mussoorrie, Nainital and others have been upgraded. We are making arrangements so that Badrinath remains open all through the year, build a ropeway to Kedarnath, and implement the Veerchanda Garhwali scheme which involves the local people in tourism projects. The scheme has been a success in providing employment to the educated unemployed in villages. The idea is to develop tourism projects that generate employment opportunities even in villages.
Keeping in view the State's unique ecology and environment, is any particular industrial sector being given priority?
Yes, Informational Technology, the pharmaceutical sector, horticulture and agro-based and dairy industries are our priority areas. Farmers are encouraged to grow non-seasonal vegetables, which fetch them better returns. The dairy industry is being given a boost. The figures of Mother Dairy would tell you that highest milk procurement is from Uttaranchal. We are trying to develop our dairy industry on the pattern of Anand. Floriculture is another priority area. Farmers are shifting from the traditional paddy crop to growing flowers and exporting them.
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