Protests threatened if Uttarakhand Bill is not passed before May 17

By C K Chandramohan

DEHRA DUN, MAY 13. The long-standing demand for a separate State of Uttarakhand or Uttaranchal could well become a reality if what transpired at the Tuesday meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, is not diluted by petty games of certain politicians and vested interests.

The Government hopes to introduce the Uttarakhand Bill in Parliament in the current session but it may not be passed due to paucity of time and could be discussed in the next session.

Creation of the new State would definitely add to the mileage enjoyed by the BJP, is the general feeling here.

The Uttarakhand Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti (USSS) , however, describes the decision to introduce the Uttarakhand Bill at the fag end of the current session as a mere gimmick. The USSS will observe May 17 as Aakrosh Diwas if the State is not formed by then. It plans to burn 101 effigies of the Prime Minister in New Delhi and hold similar protests in the hills, Mr. Dhirendra Pratap, coordinator and spokesman of the USSS, said.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress (I) Committee president, Mr Salman Khursheed, and local party heavyweight, Mr Harish Rawat, met the AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and impressed upon her the need to include Hardwar in the proposed State. Although the Congress does not have much to boast of in Hardwar, its clout in the hills cannot be ignored.

The Bill provides for including Hardwar city in the proposed State. The argument given in this move's favour is that Rishikesh and Hardwar form the twin cities that host the Kumbh Mela and have to be clubbed for better administrative and logistic reasons. The BJP MP from Hardwar and the Samajwadi Party MLA have openly supported the move. But the Loktantrik Congress Party (LCP), an important ally of the BJP-led coalition in Uttar Pradesh, has opposed the move. The LCP however, has no base in Hardwar or nearby areas of the plains or hills.

Another bone of contention has been the inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed State. Carved out of Naini Tal by the then Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati, the district is known as the granary of the region. The large farms, owned by Sikh settlers, include legal and encroached lands and many Akali Dal leaders have real estate interests. A new State would mean the authorities implementing the land ceiling laws and taking back the encroached lands converted into prime agricultural tracts. The Sikh landholders have been assured by the Uttar Pradesh Government that their land will be touched by the authorities of the new State.

Mr. S P Kochar, Dehra Dun Hotels' Association president, welcomed the announcement and said the time had come for changing the mindset of the planners to improve tourism in the area.

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Section  : Regional
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