If Jharkhand and Chattisgarh can have their permanent capital, why can’t Uttarakhand have Gairsain their permanent capital : Vinod Raturi , Ex IAS

The chief of the Uttarakhand’s Sthayi Rajdhani Gairsain Samittee, former secretary and IAS in Uttarakhand government now spearheading a movement for Gairsain to be declared as the permanent capital Mr. Vinod Prasad Raturi addressed a press conference in Press Club of India, New Delhi urging the government to fulfil the long pending demand forthwith as even the Kaushik Commission in 1994 when Uttarakhand wasn’t in existence had recommended to the central government after referendum not only proposing the formation of separate Uttarakhand state but also Gairsain to be declared as the permanent capital of proposed Uttarakhand state.

Mr. Raturi said that they have met the Garhwal Member of Parliament and national media incharge of the saffron party at the party headquarter in New Delhi the other day and presented him a memorandum addressed to the prime minister Narendra Modi highlighting various significant points and urging him to fulfil the long pending demand of the hill people for declaring Gairsain as the permanent capital for which not only the forty three movement activists have laid down their precious lives but our women activists were obnoxiously raped as well.

Addressing the media in the national capital territory former IAS and the leader of sthayi Rajdhani Gairsain Samittee Vinod Prasad Raturi said that they are starting an indefinite relay fast programme in Dehradun from 8 th March indefinitely and will lateron if need convert it into an indefinite hunger strike depending upon the attitude of the government.

Speaking on the consequences of the dual capital – Dehradun as temperory and Gairsain as summer capital, Vinod Raturi said that while Dehradun because of the excessive development has become excessively congested leading to several complications such as increase in crime rate , women insecurity, increasing murders and the capital becoming safe haven for criminals, the Gairsain not becoming a permanent capital has led to massive migration making our villages empty with over 3000 villages becoming ghost villages and nearly four thousands schools being abruptly closed including no health facilities with women and old aged persons dying for want of treatment.

Mr. Vinod Prasad Raturi said that in view of the increasung exodus of the rural population to cities, towns and metropolises, the assembly seats of the hill areas are decreasing considerably and the assembly seats of the plains are increasing phenomenally thus defeating the very purpose for which Uttarakhand was created.

If this phenomena continues unabatedly in the absence of non declaration of Gairsain as permanent capital Uttarakhand will see the chief ministers from plains and the development of the hills will take the back seat and the plain areas which are already developed and eating the economic share of the already deprived hills will be the sole gainers and Uttarakhand hills sufferers and shall be doomed for ever.

Vinod Raturi said that the situation in border villages especially at the border with China the situation is particularly aweful and alarming as population presence is extremely crucial for national security.

Persistent migration not only reflects Developmental imbalance but also creates strategic vulnerabilities in border areas asserted the leader of the movement for Gairsain permanent capital Mr. Vinod Raturi.

He questioned emphatically if the states of Jharkhand and Chattisgarh can have their permanent capital why is Uttarakhand formed alongwith these states devoid of its permanent capital despite the Kaushik Commission recommending to the then central government Gairsain to be declared as the permanent capital of Uttarakhand even before Uttarakhand coming into existence.

Emphatically stating that decentralisation of socio economic and infrastructural development in Uttarakhand is only possible if Gairsain is made the permanent capital Vinod Raturi said that this is the demand of entire Uttarakhand with every single person in favour of this demand for which Baba Uttarakhandi has also sacrificed his life by undertaking one hundred days hunger strike.

Declaring that their organisation is completely non political Vinod Raturi said that they will support those who will declare Gairsain as permanent capital before the 2027 elections.

It may be recalled that during the tenure of Congress in 2014 , when Vijay Bahuguna was the chief minister he had sanctioned a budget of Rs. 500 crores for the construction of the assembly building in Bhararisain and other infrastructural development though the then Governor Mrs Baby Maurya had declared Gairsain as the Summer capital.

Mr. Raturi said Uttarakhand is already a state undergoing a fiscal deficit of 80 thousand crores having no source of its economic generation , hence wasting crores of rupees on two capitals will definitely make our economy more miserable which should be should be avoided at all costs and instead of two capitals Gairsain should be made the single permanent capital leading to the new chapter of a revolutionary development of Uttarakhand at the grass root level thus making our villages fertile and economy of rural Uttarakhand extremely viable.

Those who were seated with Mr. Vinod Raturi on the dias were senior retired defence officer Mr. Ramesh Kandpal, Bhuvan Joshi advocate, Mr. Lingwal and others.