The ban on camping in Bugyals in Uttarakhand should be lifted, Maharaj gave instructions to the officials

The standards of approval of the Forest Department in road construction which are applicable in PMGSY should also be implemented in the Public Works Department. So that the roads of the Public Works Department in the state can be easily constructed without any hindrance. For this, the officials of the Public Works Department, Tourism Department and Forest Department should jointly take concrete steps as well as ensure quick action to open the closed track routes from the tourism point of view. These instructions were given by Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj in a meeting held on Saturday.

Maharaj raised the demand for a process like PMGSY

Maharaj said that at the time of road construction by the Public Works Department, double the civil land is given to the Forest Department for forest clearance, whereas in PMGSY, at the time of road construction, no land is given to the Forest Department as land compensation, rather equivalent land is afforestation by PMGSY for the acquired land in the reserve forest itself. Due to which the roads of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana are constructed quickly and easily, whereas the process of road construction gets delayed due to the non-availability of double the land by the Public Works Department. Therefore, the standards of approval of the Forest Department in road construction which are applicable in PMGSY should be applied in the Public Works Department as well. So that the Public Works Department can easily construct roads without any hindrance.

The ban on camping in the Bugyals in Uttarakhand should be lifted: Maharaj

During the meeting, Maharaj told the officials that he had also asked for a solution to this problem in front of Union Forest Minister Bhupendra Yadav during his recent meeting with him during his visit to Dehradun. The minister instructed the officials that efforts should be made to remove the ban imposed by the Nainital High Court on camping in the Bugyals of Uttarakhand. He said that efforts should be made to open both the tracks from Van to Roopkund and Ghes to Bagji in Chamoli, which come under the Badrinath Forest Division, and the Nanda Devi track, as well as permission to set up tents in Chopta. Apart from this, Maharaj said that opening the tracks which are closed in Uttarkashi is very important from the tourism point of view.