BUDGET 2000
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
COMMENTARY
GOVT&ECONOMY
Y2K: BIZ FEATURES
INDIA & THE WTO
CREDIT POLICY
BIZ IN THE USA
CARS & MOBIKES
MANAGEMENT
CASE STUDY
BIZ-QUIZ
USEFUL INFO
ARCHIVES
NEWSLINKS
SEARCH REDIFF

'Service sector more vital than industry for Uttarakhand'

A 'creative partnership' between the government and the people will be required to build 'a new vibrant and prosperous Uttarakhand', according to B K Joshi, former vice-chancellor of Kumaon University.

In an article 'Uttarakahand: Challenges Ahead', published in the journal Mountains and People, Joshi says the responsibility of building a bright future for the hilly region rests with its luminaries, thinkers and policy-makers.

Joshi, who was also former director of Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow, deals at length on the various issues of the 'would-be' state including its development problems. He emphasises that the primary source of employment in the region is the service sector which needs to be upgraded.

Knowledge and skill-based industries can also provide employment for which there is an express need for a comprehensive education policy for the region.

Dehra Dun, Mussoorie and Nainital house important educational institutions and 'so there is no reason why Uttarakhand cannot be built on this historical legacy', he argued.

Joshi disagrees with the view that the statehood will by itself solve any of these problems. "It can at best provide a favourite politico-administrative environment in which the search for appropriate solutions to these problems has a better chance of success than the existing arrangement."

Joshi says the primary reason for the demand for statehood is the conviction in the peoples' minds that their problems and grievances have remained largely unaddressed in the big state of Uttar Pradesh. This is due to the fact that Uttarakhand is only a small part of the state and has specific developmental constraints owing to its topography.

It is, therefore, imperative to understand the problems of the region in view of its special circumstances.

Joshi disagrees that there is much scope for industrial development in the hills. Most of the industries in the region are located in the plains of Udham Singh Nagar and the Doon valley.

Moreover, it is very expensive to transport raw materials to the hilly region. The region's hilly topography does not really encourage setting up of industries. So the industry-based growth in Uttarakhand is not practically feasible, he says.

UNI

Business