"We need effective thinking to stop migration in mountainous areas": Uttarakhand CM Dhami

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], March 15 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that there is a need for effective thinking to stop migration in the mountainous areas.
Instructions have been given to study the reasons for migration in the mountainous areas in depth, organise rural entrepreneurship development workshops to create awareness among the youth about self-employment and review the effective implementation of public welfare schemes at the district level.

The Chief Minister has also talked about getting the cooperation of district-level officers in this. He said that the arrangements for effective implementation of the suggestions of the Commission should be ensured at the government level.
He also asked to focus on studying the status of reverse migration in the state and taking advantage of the experiences of the people who have returned to the state.
The Chief Minister has also said that there is a need to focus on organising the Pravasi Samman Samaroh held in the state around the State Foundation Day and increasing the production of traditional products of the state for the success of the House of Himalayas.
The 7th meeting of the Rural Development and Migration Prevention Commission was held in the Secretariat on Friday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
The Chief Minister said that for the rapid increase in the livelihood of the people in the mountainous areas, action plans will also have to be made on a wide scale.
The government is promoting small and medium industries in the hilly areas. Continuous efforts are being made to increase the livelihood of the people in the hilly areas as well as to increase education and health facilities. Continuous efforts are being made to promote industry, tourism, agriculture, and horticulture.
He said that those people who are doing reverse migration and are self-employed, as well as connecting other people to self-employment in the hilly areas of the state, should be encouraged.
He said that the Forest Panchayat Rules have been approved in the state. This will also enable better work in the fields of herbal production, tree plantation, water conservation, forest fire prevention, ecotourism and self-employment.
He also asked to focus on reducing the damage to agriculture due to wild animals in collaboration with the Forest Panchayats and all the concerned departments. This will also help in the availability of products for the House of Himalayas.
The Chief Minister said that efforts should also be made in this direction to make Uttarakhand a wedding destination.
"The beauty of this place has been attracting people from all over the country and the world. The state government is going to prepare a detailed policy for wedding destinations in the state. Its results will be out soon," said Dhami.
In the meeting, the Vice President of the Rural Development and Migration Prevention Commission, Dr SS Negi, said that so far, 21 reports have been submitted by the commission to the state government.
Recommendations related to strengthening social and economic development and reducing migration in various districts of the state have been presented. He said that the second survey report on the status of migration in the state has also been submitted to the government by the commission.
He said that workshops were organised at various places by the commission to promote self-employment. The first rural self-employment workshop for Pauri, Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts was organised in Pauri, the second rural self-employment workshop for Bageshwar, Nainital and Almora districts was organised in Haldwani (Nainital); the third rural self-employment workshop for Pithoragarh, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar districts was organised in Rudrapur, Udham Singh Nagar; and the fourth rural self-employment workshop for Uttarkashi, Tehri, Dehradun and Haridwar districts was organized in Dehradun.
In the meeting, the members of the Commission informed that they interacted with the residents in the areas of Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts bordering the India-China international border and discussed with district-level officers the implementation of self-employment schemes run by various departments.
The Commission is working on the suggestions sought in the presence of the Legislative Assembly Committee on migration, meetings with the Education Department, meetings with Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand Horticulture and Forestry University and other universities and the suggestions sought in the meetings with various departments organised by the Commission from time to time.
He believed that the trend of people in the state was moving towards reverse migration. To promote agriculture and horticulture in the state, he suggested taking protective measures to save crops from wild animals, connecting as many youth and women in mountainous areas with self-employment as possible, and focusing on developing wedding facilities at Trijuginarayan as well as other religious and tourist places.
Everyone said that the tradition of night stays in homestays promoted by the Chief Minister during his visit to the districts promotes the homestay scheme. (ANI)