Darjeeling: A civil society group seeking separate development
policies for hill states renewed its demand on Friday at a meeting in
Darjeeling attended by representatives from 12 hill states.
The Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI), floated in 2011,
draws members from different walks of life including bureaucracy,
politics, academicians and students among others.
"We believe (government) policies do not really take into the
account the realities in mountainous areas. The schemes are drawn up in
Delhi and many of the schemes and policies are more suited for the
plains," Fantry Mein Jaswal, secretary of the IMI, said after the
meeting on Friday.
The IMI has representatives in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Bengal (Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts) and
Assam (Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao).
"Probably, (we need a) separate ministry for mountainous states or at least separate policies for hilly states," said Jaswal.
Some changes appear to be taking shape after the IMI's
efforts. The ministry of environment, forests and climate change has now
created a separate mountain division.
But more needs to be done, IMI representatives stressed and
added that most chief ministers of these states had warmed up to the
idea. "We have been holding annual summits since 2012 and have been
working on different fronts," said Jaswal.
"The project will continue till March 2019 and an Indian
Himalayan Region level compendium will be complied to look into these
issues," said Praful Rao, president of the Darjeeling Himalayan
Initiative (DHI).
"We had the first meeting in Darjeeling. Such consultative work will be held in all hill states," Rao added.
The Telegraph
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