Uttarakhand: MP Naresh Bansal spoke in Rajya Sabha, raised the issue of green bonus and floating population
Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal on Friday demanded green bonus for Uttarakhand in lieu of environmental services in the House. He requested the central government that every year eight crore population comes to Uttarakhand from other states. He demanded financial assistance and benefits of schemes to Uttarakhand in proportion to the eight crore population.
Let us tell you that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has also been raising both these issues before the Center and NITI Aayog from time to time. Bansal said, the geographical situation of Himalayan states including Uttarakhand is different from the rest of the states of the country. There is natural beauty and wealth here. The environment is clean, but there are also adverse conditions. There has been a long-standing demand for making an independent policy for the sustainable development of Himalayan states.
Said, development is greatly affected here due to adverse geographical conditions. Schemes take time to complete. Many projects are pending for a long time. It is necessary to make a separate policy of development according to the geographical and social structure of the mountain states. Said, for more than a decade, Uttarakhand has been demanding a special package and green bonus from the central government for its environmental services to the country.
Uttarakhand’s forested areas, glaciers, perennial rivers benefit other parts of the country more than Uttarakhand. It also has an impact on the global environment. According to an assessment, Uttarakhand is providing services worth Rs 95,112 crore to the country every year through its biodiversity. This should be compensated by green bonus.
He said, the population of the state is 1.25 crore, but if the number of devotees coming on tourism, many religious pilgrimages, festivals is added, then it becomes more than 8 crore. He requested the government through the House that considering the state’s population to be more than 8 crore, give the benefit of economic assistance and schemes in proportion to it. Along with this, the special industrial package should also be restored.
