Dehradun: Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat held a courtesy meeting with officers of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) at Chief Minister’s residence on Wednesday. The officers who are on a coordination and training programme with different states are on a visit to Uttarakhand. The officers included Ambassador of India to the Republic of Surinam Mahender Singh Kanyal, Director (ADP),Foreign Ministry, Government of India Kartik Pandey, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Tehran, Devesh Uttam, Counselor (political) High Commission of India , Georgetown, Guyana, R.K.Parindiya and Director Disarmament, Foreign Ministry Mayank Joshi.
Welcoming the officers to Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand state government has been making efforts in different sectors to make the state one of the leading states of the country. He said that being a hilly state and 71 per cent of its’ geographical land under forests, the land for industrialization is limited in the state. Despite that, industrial sector is being developed in an area of three thousand acres. To invite investments in the state from the country and abroad, “Investors Summit” is being organized in the month of October which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. The theme of the summit is “Destination Uttarakhand” and countries like Japan and Singapore are participating in it.
About 800 investors are expected to be present on this occasion and about 20 thousand crores of investment is expected. Major entrepreneurs of the country will participate in this. Industrialist Mr. Mukesh Ambani, in the entire state through O.F.C, has come forward to help in the development of communication facilities and religious areas.
Chief Minister said that we are laying special focus on service sector. He further said that tourism is an important part of state economy. Tourism has been given industry status for this. Tehri Lake is being made the center of tourist activities. Steps have been taken in the direction of village tourism. A project has been chalked out to popmote local products. Schemes have been made to provide employment opportunities in hill areas to the youth. Initiatives towards rain water conservation are also being initiated.
Chief Minister said that the initiative has been taken in the direction of water conservation through extensive public cooperation in the state. To rejuvenate Rispana to Rishiparna and Kosi river, 2.50 lakh trees along the river Rispana and 1.80 lakh trees alongside Kosi River have been planted, out of which 90 per cent are alive. Action plan has also been made to save the Nainital Lake because Nainital is important due to the lake. Chief Minister said that for the forests studies, the officers of forest service are coming here from all over the country.
Foreign service officials said that the beauty of Uttarakhand is better than Switzerland. Char Dham and other tourist sites like Haridwar and Rishikesh are the center of tourist attraction. They appreciated the initiatives being taken by the Chief Minister in the state and talked about the efforts towards water conservation of lakes and waterfalls in the hills. They also assured the Chief Minister of cooperation in the development of the state.
