Uttarakhand holds 1st Himalayan conclave

Conclave of Himalayan States was held on at Mussoorie in Uttarakhand to discuss priorities of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) in 15th Finance Commission (XV FC). The conclave was initiated by government of Uttarakhand with Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) as its knowledge partner. The chief guest of conclave was Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Key Highlights of Conclave

Participants: The conclave saw participation of representatives from 11 hill states namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.

Conclave’s Agenda: As most of country’s rivers originate in Himalayas therefore Himalayan states play most significant role in prime minister’s water conservation initiative thus need is to work towards water conservation, with focus on conserving glaciers, rivers, lakes and water bodies besides reviving water resources which have dried up over years. Various other issues related to development of Himalayan States were also discussed in conclave.

Green Bonus: 11 States belonging to Himalayan Region sought Green Bonus from Centre considering their contributions to environmental conservation and to compensate the Himalayan states for their disadvantages.

Separate Ministry: Concerned states also asked Centre to set up a dedicated Ministry for region, to deal with problems endemic to them.

It is for 1st time that states belonging to Himalayan Region have come on a single platform to take a unanimous stand on issue of green bonus and separate ministry for dealing with problems unique to them.

Deliberation on development challenges and potential of IHR and concluded with adoption of Mussoorie Resolution 2019.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2019