Himachal VS Uttarakhand

Sustainable development is a multi-dimensional process which can be seen in Himachal Pradesh. On the other hand, Uttarakhand is a bad example of a hill development plan which needs improvement in various sectors.

Contrasting features between Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand:

Uttarakhand is the case of late formation while Himachal Pradesh is all set to meet National Population Policy (NPP) targets and is placed better in terms of development as it was timely formed. Since Himachal was a Union Territory for almost 10 years from 1 November 1956 to 1 November 1966, therefore, it was able to bag good development plans, funds, and expertise. On the contrary, Uttarakhand has been neglected for years and it only came to light after the havoc created during the 2013 flash floods that devastated the cardinal Hindu pilgrim sites from which the government reaped heavy profits. There is a dire need of good, honest and visionary leaders and CMs in Uttarakhand. Not only the Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand lack leadership qualities but they are much more interested in scams, corruption, verbal war and accusing each other than on developing Uttarakhand. On the contrary in the history of Himachal, there have been some great C.Ms such as Y.S Parmar, the first Chief Minister of Himachal and many more who have proved their metal over the years.

The geographical factors also play a significant role in the development of the state. While Uttarakhand has a population of around 8.5 million and the land area is 55,845 sq km, Himachal Pradesh has a relatively less population around 63 lakh and the land area is about 55,673 sq km. The land, water and weather conditions of Himachal Pradesh are suitable for agriculture and H.P has also been the proud producer of several cash crops. On the other hand, Uttarakhand which is a hill state has tough geographical conditions which makes farming difficult and there is no monetary support from any institution.

The reason behind slow development of Uttarakhand:

The main reason behind the slow development of Uttarakhand is the existence of sharp geographical differences in some areas of the state. Most of the remote villages are economically backward as they are not connected with motorable roads which has hampered the development process in these areas. There is lack of basic facilities like education, health care, transportation, sanitation and job opportunities. Also, there is little or no development in the far-flung villages. The schemes that are launched for the betterment of these villages exist only in papers and the money is not utilized for their development. While Dehradun and Nainital has high per capita income; the interior parts of Uttarakhand like Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Chamoli, Bageshwar have less per capita income. The people residing in these places live below poverty line which has lead to an unbalanced development. To present a flawless picture, the per capita Net State Domestic Product figures does not portray the true picture of the poor conditions faced by the people.

The role of government in bringing new reforms and policies for the development of the state:

The government also plays a major role in introducing growth inclusive policies, reducing poverty and achieving socio-economic development. In the year 2000 when Uttarakhand was formed, there were high expectations that the formation of the new state will bring an economic upsurge. However, these expectations were lead down because development work took place in the regions which were already developed. Later on, imbalance development and increase in regional inequalities was observed; resulting a situation wherein only state policies and governance could counter regional imbalances.

Percentage of Population Living Below Poverty Line:

Some hidden aspects behind the slow growth of Uttarakhand:

Unstable Government: Unlike Himachal, there has been no stable government in Uttarakhand. The state replaces its C.M in maximum one or two years and this has become an every day’s cup of tea for Uttarakhand government. In just 14 years this newly formed state has witnessed more than seven Chief Ministers (B.C Khanduri two times). Both B.J.P and Congress government have come to power but none of them have fulfilled their promises and objectives. If we do some research on the previous CMs of Uttarakhand we will come to the conclusion that most of them have failed to make a stable government which can take decisions and implement them simultaneously.

Workers Classification: The Work Participation Rate (WPR), which is defined as the percentage of the total worker to the total population is 36.93% in Uttarakhand and 39.30% on all India basis as per 2001 census. It is evident that the dependence ratio (proportion of non-workers) is higher in Uttarakhand. Surprisingly in Uttarakhand, there is a perceptible decline in the proportion of main workers and a significant increase in the proportion of marginal workers which has increased from 5.56% in 1991 to 9.54% in 2001.

Unemployment: Unemployment and migration are interrelated because in order to make ends meet people migrate to other cities either for jobs or for a good lifestyle. Those who are highly educated in Uttarakhand don’t get jobs which match their profile since Uttarakhand lacks well established Multi-National Companies. And the companies that are set up in Uttarakhand only exploit the workers by taking more work from them and paying less in return. Therefore, the people of Uttarakhand migrate to other cities for earning a handful money in order to support their families. Also, the government jobs that are introduced by the state, have fewer seats which are applied by thousands of aspirants. Plus there are times when the aspirants have to wait for more than a year for the results to come just because of the laid back attitude of the government.

Migration: Migration has been a major reason for hampering the growth of the state as there is ample of land for agriculture but labour is not available because they have migrated to other cities. In Uttarakhand most of the educated and talented individuals migrate to other cities for seeking better jobs. The “Brain Drain” concept is adversely affecting the state’s efforts in launching any ambitious scheme of development. While Himachal Pradesh hasn’t witnessed such things.

High Poverty Level: The poverty level in Uttarakhand is much higher than Himachal Pradesh both in rural and urban areas and at all-India level. According to Urban and Regional Planning, the poverty rate in rural areas of Uttarakhand is 40.8%, the urban poverty rate is 36.5% and the total poverty rate is 39.6%. Whereas, according to the report of Material Requirement Planning, the percentages are 31.7%, 32.0% and 31.8% respectively. The all-India poverty estimates are less than 30% on both the counts. On the contrary, Himachal Pradesh has poverty level infractions about 1/4 in the rural areas and 1/11 in urban areas. These data clearly indicates the need to create job opportunities in rural as well as urban areas of Uttarakhand for accelerating economic growth.

Education: There is the dearth of good educational institutions in Uttarakhand which has resulted in high rate of illiteracy in the hilly areas of the state. The villages of Uttarakhand don’t have good schools, the teachers are least interested in offering quality education as they get handsome salary from the government and do not care to teach well. Leave out education, most of the schools don’t even have furniture and toilets which are the basic facilities that a school must provide to its children. On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh has shown a keen interest in developing the educational sector. There are good schools and colleges in every district of Himachal therefore, the literacy rate is skyrocketing in Himachal.

Inappropriate Use of Natural Resources: Uttarakhand is bestowed with natural resources in abundance there are several water resources which are present in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand but still there is no electricity. The state is in darkness when it can illuminate every corner of the country. This kind of ignorance reminds me of the famous Hindi proverb “Chirag tale andhera” which means there is darkness under the shade of the lamp. The lamp which illuminates the darkest corner remains gloomy under its foot. Similarly, Uttarakhand which possesses one of the tallest hydroelectric dam called Tehri Dam supplies electricity to other states like Delhi and Uttar Pradesh while its own villages are living in darkness. 

It’s heart wrenching to see that the infinite dreams which are in the eyes of the kids are dying a slow and painful death. Since the villages are deprived of electricity, the children are unable to study and they are well aware of the fact that they have to live with this darkness for all their lives. Apart from this, there are a lots of valuable minerals which are found in Uttarakhand such as raw Magnesium, white Limestone, Lead, Copper, Uranium etc. Also, there are a wide variety of rare medicinal plants, fruits, spices which can be exported to foreign countries for increasing the capital of Uttarakhand.

Socio-Economic Factors: Economic development through rational utilization of resources and environmental conservation are the two important problems associated with the development of mountain areas. In the last four decades, Uttarakhand has witnessed an increase in population growth, in particular, increase in degradation & depletion of land resources, a decline in the productive capacity of the land, continuous dependence of a very large proportion of the population on land resources in general and on traditional subsistence agriculture in particular. All these factors have lead to the crawling development of the state.

Detrimental Effect of Natural Disasters on Tourism: Uttarakhand witnesses a number of natural disasters which occurs in various parts of the state due to which tourism sector gets affected. Tourists avoid visiting Uttarakhand due to the fear of landslides, floods, deluge, cloud burst etc. Therefore, effective measures should be taken for the safety of the tourists. For e.g: They should be informed about the weather conditions. In order to flourish tourism in Uttarakhand, National Highways should be build. Conservation of the forests should be done to maintain the lush green beauty of the hills which attracts tourists.

Poor Industrial Development: Uttarakhand is a perfect example of poor industrial development as there are numerous big industrial plants in the urban areas while the rural areas don’t have any. If Uttarakhand government lays emphasis on setting up small scale industries or cottage industries in the rural areas, it will balance out the uneven industrial development. If the local products made by the artisans should be promoted it will help in widening the market for handicraft items and making it popular among the people. This, in turn, will attract the buyers as traditional handicraft items are not easily available.

Poor Water Management Techniques: Uttarakhand experiences rainfall of 1050 mm, precipitation varies from year to year. The water management in Uttarakhand is poor and the state has not adopted effective measures to cope up with the problem of scarcity of water.

Small Landholdings and Lack of Irrigation Facilities: In Uttarakhand around 75% of the population is dependent on agriculture but due to small land holdings, lack of irrigation facilities, increasing population the farmers are not able to get a profitable output. The only fertile agricultural land is present in the narrow Tarai belt. Whereas, the other areas remain infertile due to the paucity of water. For this Watershed Management techniques should be adopted, dams, reservoirs, tube wells, underground tanks should be built in order to save the rainwater which can be used at the time of water shortage.

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