Amid growing resentment among workers and environmentalists over Uttarakhand government's proposal to develop a smart city over tea estate land in Dehradun, the Chief Minister today asked officials to explore alternative land options available for the purpose in the city.
Talking to reporters, Harish Rawat said he has asked the Housing Secretary and Vice Chairman of Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority (MMDA) R Meenakshi Sundaram to explore alternative options and examine availability of land for the project other than the tea estate land identified earlier as per the norms set by the Centre.
Rawat said he has also asked officials concerned to delimit land requirement for the purpose to 300 acres and even leave the responsibility of implementing the project on the next government if they cannot reduce their requirements.
The state government had identified 1,200-1,900 acres of tea estate land on the outskirts of the city for the project recently and is in talks with two tea companies to acquire it.
However, the proposal has not gone down well with tea estate workers who are concerned about their economic and social security and enviromentalists who are worried about the city's environment.
Rawat also asked officials concerned to address the concerns of the tea estate workers and environmentalists saying there can be no compromise on the social security of the workers nor ecology.
"Addressing people's grievances and their concerns regarding the Smart City project is our top prioriy. The questions raised by them have been taken note of," he said.
The Chief Minister also criticised the BJP for going against the proposal of building a smart city on tea estate land asking the opposition party to clarify whether it wants to see a smart city being constructed in Dehradun or not.
"The concept of smart cities is the Centre's brainwave and we have accepted it in the interest of the state. But it seems BJP friends do not like the concept. If they do not want a smart city to be built here, they should make it clear," Rawat said.
