On Wednesday Uttarakhand’s urban development minister and government’s spoke person Madan Kaushik Said The state has suffered a setback of Rs 7,000 crore in the ongoing financial year. He, however, denied calling the entire amount as a financial loss as it also comprises of the funds that were to be provided by the Union government.
With the lockdown all set to enter the fourth stage, Uttarakhand has started analysing the financial situation and ways to come out of the present scenario.On being asked about the issue after the Cabinet meeting, Kaushik said, “Rough estimates suggest that the state government has suffered a setback of Rs 7,000 crore in this fiscal. Calling the entire sum a loss will not be right as it includes certain funds that were to be provided by the Union government and we expect to get them at some stage.”
The minister did not fail to mention that the state had constituted a committee headed by retired IAS officer Indu Kumar Pandey which comprised of senior officers. “The committee has submitted its report and it was tabled before the state cabinet on Wednesday. The report details the situation of various sectors like MSMEs, industries, tourism, and others,” said the minister. Kaushik pointed out that the report is being studied by the state government and some concrete steps would be taken soon.
“We have just got the report, so, it is too early to give any answer on the steps to be initiated by the government on basis of this report,” he added. Besides, the state has also constituted a three-member committee headed by agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal to study the scenario of the agricultural sector and recommend ways to help the farmers. “We are waiting for the committee’s report and once we get it, we will check the recommendations made by both committees and take the suitable step to improve the financial scenario,” Kaushik added.
He pointed out that the state has already started taking some measures and has also made some recommendations to the Centre like opening of the Char Dham Yatra for the districts of Uttarakhand that are presently in the green zone category. “We have requested the Centre to give permission for religious activities and more economic activities in areas besides the containment zone,” he added.
The Char Dham Yatra provides an estimated revenue of Rs 2,000 crore to all the stakeholders, including the state government. Earlier, tourism minister Satpal Maharaj had said, “Not only the government, but the economy of the entire region depends of the Char Dham Yatra. We are fortunate that the districts where Char Dham shrines are located are under the green zone. Therefore, we have requested the Centre to start the yatra for the green zone districts so that it can provide some financial assistance to stakeholders, including hotel and restaurant owners, pony owners, road-side shops and portars.”
