Ahead of Assembly polls, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat will observe a fast in New Delhi on January 5 against the “anti-Uttarakhand decisions” being taken by the Narendra Modi government.
The decision was triggered by the Centre’s rejection of a zonal master plan proposed by the Rawat government to develop a 100-km stretch of River Bhagirathi into an eco-sensitive zone.
Addressing the media here on Sunday, Mr. Rawat said, “I will sit on a day-long fast at Jantar Mantar [in New Delhi] on January 5. We [people of Uttarakhand] are already reeling under the impacts of demonetisation and now the Centre has taken a decision which is anti-development and anti-Uttarakhand … It [the Centre] should have endorsed our zonal master plan.”
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According to a Central government notification of December 18, 2012, a 100-km stretch of the river Bhagirathi from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi was to be declared as eco-sensitive.
A zonal master plan was to be prepared by the State government within two years of the notification based on which the area could be developed as an eco-sensitive zone. However, the Congress government in the State has been reluctant to implement the notification.