Satpal Maharaj is one of the senior most ministers in the Uttarakhand cabinet. He talks of the strides being made in the hill state in the tourism sector, including development of non religious tourist destinations. Uttarakhand witnessed a record 6 crore tourist footfalls in 2023
Although Uttarakhand is a favourite destination for religious tourism, non-religious tourism is yet to flourish in the state as compared to other Himalayan states. What steps are you taking in this regard?
We witnessed a record of more than 6 crore tourist footfalls in 2023. although a majority of them visited Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, Kedarnath and hemkunt Sahib shrines, non-religious tourist destinations were also big attractions last season. however, we are committed to develop new nonreligious destinations in the coming days. Work is on to develop 13 new unexplored tourist destinations, one each in all 13 districts. apart from this, several least explored destinations are being upgraded with more services and facilities.
Massive investment is planned for the upgradation of renowned destinations like Tehri Lake. Our government is developing huge road and air connectivity infrastructure with a large network of cable cars for creating access to remote hill areas. The tourism department has also embarked upon the manaskhand mandir mala mission project to create a circuit of temples for promoting tourism in Kumaon hills.
In addition, the state’s tourism policy 2023 entails massive concessional schemes offering subsidies for investors. We are also trying to make eco and wildlife tourism more attractive and service-oriented. The government’s homestay scheme has also resulted in massive improvisation of lodging infrastructure for tourism.
Investors Summit 2023 resulted in more than Rs3,000 crore of MoUs in the tourism sector. Can you give us the details?
These moUs are mainly for developing tourism infrastructure, especially setting up cable cars and services for high hill tourists. Work will also be started for creating ideal wedding destinations in the state, also known as ‘Devbhoomi’. Besides this, investment is also expected in wellness tourism, yoga and other service-oriented sectors.
The much-awaited demand for a separate land law is still hanging in the balance in the state. What is the progress on this?
a separate land law is needed for the natives of Uttarakhand to protect their land holdings from outside buyers. as promised by the chief minister himself, the law is also needed to save agricultural lands in the hills of Uttarakhand. Several parts of the state have witnessed demographic shifts due to large-scale land purchase and settlements in the hills by the outsiders.
The special committee report submitted to the state government is being studied. Its recommendations are being examined. he government will take all necessary legal measures on separate land law after that. meanwhile, contrary to earlier norms, the government has withdrawn the district magistrate’s power to issue permits for purchase of agricultural land following recommendation by the special committee.
Uttarakhand has become the first state to make a law on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). What are the implications of this?
We are the first state in the country to create history by passing the Ucc bill in the assembly. It is a big leap towards ushering in an era of uniformity in civil rights and abolishing certain traditional ill practices among communities cutting across religious lines. Ucc will have a long-term impact in bringing justice and wellbeing, especially to muslim women. They will find it much easier and comfortable with the passage of time.
In fact, it will lead to parity in civil rights among women of all communities. Several other states have now demanded our draft to legislate Ucc for their people.
Ucc and its implementation has always been our party’s national agenda. It was a commitment made to the people as an electoral promise in the 2022 state assembly elections. Ucc has nothing to do with the 2024 general elections.
The BJP had won all five seats in the last two Lok Sabha polls. Do you think it will repeat its performance for the third time?
We will repeat our Lok Sabha poll performance for the third consecutive time. It will be a clean sweep again. People of Uttarakhand voted for Narendra modi in the 2022 assembly poll and they will continue to do so in 2024 as well, irrespective of the type of elections it will be.