Rawat justifies choice of tea estate land for smart city

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat today justified his choice of tea state land for the Centre's Smart City project here, saying that it was the best option available and all the concerns expressed by environmentalists and tea estate workers have been addressed by the state government.
In an interactive programme with the media over Dehradun Smart City project, Rawat also said that the land requirement for the project has been delimited to 350 acres.
Pointing out that the concept of retrofitting within Dehradun for the project or developing it over a new area were not viable in the present circumstances due to forested areas in Raipur and cultivable land in Doiwala, Rawat said the best option available for the project was tea estate land.

"Tea estate land was being encroached and illegal planting was also being done on it. We have taken the concerns expressed over choice of this land very seriously and addressed them all," he said.
There wasresentment among workers and environmentalists over state government's proposal to develop a smart city over tea estate land in Dehradun.
Tea estate labourers will get jobs and houses in the smart city, he said, adding that the interest of those engaged in farming activities there or those who have purchased plots there will also be protected.

The Forest Research Institute has been asked to explain how much green cover is needed in the proposed smart city for environmental reasons and required land will be allocated for the purpose, Rawat said.

Dehradun smart city will be developed as a hub of educational and health institutions.
The state government will proceed in a very transparent manner on the project and the income generated from it will be spent over developing old areas of the city and other places.
"The concept of smart cities is the Centre's brainwave and we have accepted it in the interest of the state. If we had not risen to the occasion we would have been accused of wasting an opportunity," he said.