-- By R.P. Dhasmana, Source PUCL Bulletin

The newly formed State of Uttarakhand is indeed a small State by all definitions. It is spread over 53119 kilometers inhabiting 15669 villages, 77 towns, 48 tehsils, and 95 blocks in 13 districts. Keeping in view its geographical, human and natural diversities, it is a mini-India in the real sense. Almost all the religious, sects, communities, and castes live together in perfect harmony and peace. There have been no communal tensions in the area so far. There are plains, teraai, doons, Shivalik hills, mountains, and snow-capped cliffs. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Bihar are wholly depended for water on this state alone. The hydro-potential of 40 thousand megawatts, if realised in a well-managed way, will be sufficient for the entire nation's needs today.

Many things are to be set right, before we embark upon the correct line. The UP Reorganisation Act 2002 takes away the newly carved out State's right over its resources. It is not free to use its water resources even for irrigation purposes. It has to consult UP if it wants to make use of this resource. It has to sell the hydro-power to CCP for 65 paise per unit and then purchase it from them for one and a half rupee per unit for which the actual consumers in the State will have to pay over Rs. 3 per unit.

There are more than 25 such anomalies in the Act. Until these anomalies are removed through amendments in the Act, the State would not be able to move forward. It is because the same party is ruling over the Centre, Uttarakhand and UP, the interim Government of Uttarakhand is tightlipped to raise any voice against these anomalies. Moreover the type of the Government that this new State has got is lacking vision in all respects. Unlike Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, ours is an interim Government which had to accomplish the twin tasks of delimitation of Constituencies and sharing of Estates. The Government instead of doing this and paving the way for a full-fledged Government to come in, is indulging into signing contracts with private parties, drafting policies for different departments and coming up with strew legislations being opposed by people throughout the state. 'Forest Regulation' is one such instance.

The people of Uttarakhand demanded a separate hill State when they felt they were lagging far behind in the race for development. A State with rich bio-diversity and different sections of people living in diverse set-ups with different ethos and daily requirements with different family institutions cannot be managed by a few elected representatives and so called experts who derive their expertise from the looks of colonial rule. So the Government and administration in a small State should be people-oriented. It has to involve people from the grass-root level not only in planning but in arriving at the right decisions regarding them. The answer is provided by the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts passed by the Parliament in 1993. Since then no State in India has implemented them in right earnest. Kerala did it gradually for five years and witnessed the change for itself. In Madhya Pradesh the thing was done in a reverse order, i.e., from above downwards. But the Act provides the decentralisation scheme in a bottom-up direction.

(Eleventh Schedule) gives the right of management of: 1. Agriculture including its extension, 2. Implementation of land reforms, land consolidation, and soil conservation, 3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development, 4. Fisheries, 5. Social and farm forestry, 6. Minor forest produce, 7. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry, 8. Small-scale industries including food-processing units, 9. Khadi, village, and cottage industries, 10. Rural housing, 11. Drinking water, 12. Fuel and fodder, 13. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways, and other means of Communication, 14. Rural electrification, including distributing of electricity, 15. Non-conventional energy sources, 16. Poverty alleviation programmes, 17. Education, including primary and secondary schools, 18. Technical training and vocational education, 19. Adult and non-formal education, 20. Libraries, 21. Cultural activities, 22. Markets and fairs, 23. Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries, 24. Family welfare, 25. Women and child development, 26. Social welfare, 27. Welfare of the weaker sections, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, 28. Public distribution system, 29. Maintaining of Community assets to the Panchayats.

Article 243W (Twelfth Schedule) empowers the self-governments in the cities to undertake: 1. Urban planning including town planning, 2. Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings, 3. Planning for economic and social development, 4. Roads and bridges, 5. Water supply for domestic, industrial, and commercial purpose, 6. Public health, sanitation, conservancy, and solid waste management, 7. Fire services, 8. Urban forestry, promotion of environmental and ecological states, 9. Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections, handicapped and mentally retarded, 10. Slum improvement and upgradation, 11. Urban poverty alleviation programmes, 12. Provision of Urban facilities like parks, gardens, playgrounds, 13. Promotion of cultural, educational, and aesthetic activities, 14. Burials and burial grounds, cremations, cremation grounds and electric crematoria, 15. Cattle pounds, prevention of cruelty against animals, 16. Registration of births and deaths, 17. Public amenities including street lighting, parking spots, bus stops, and public conveniences, 18. Regulation of slaughterhouses and tanneries.

These exhaustive lists show that if the State empowers the Panchayats and local self-governments in cities to undertake all these activities, the State has a few things to do, such as connecting district headquarters with the State Capital, looking after University Education, etc. Most of its energies will be confined to legislative activities. But the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts keep the State Governments free in giving whatsoever powers it likes to the Panchayats and autonomous bodies in the cities. That is why the State Governments are not willing to part with all these powers. For this public opinion has to be created to a large extent. Secondly, when the State provides for the budget for these activities, it should not be channelised through Collectors and Blocks. It should be given direct to the Panchayats. In fact Panchayats are expected to evolve their own administration and judiciary. Collector Raj has no place in Panchayat Raj.

The hilly areas of Uttarakhand have 23 percent land only which can be used by its people. Out of this 12.22 percent has already become barren and only 12.88 percent is cultivable, 10 percent of which is having irrigation facilities. Sixty-three percent of land is known as forestland though forests cover only 60 percent of it. Because of open market concept and also because of depending for everything on loans from World Bank and other agencies, Governments generally undertake unwieldy projects which they cannot manage well. On the instructions of loan-providing agencies, national parks, biospheres, and sanctuaries are being expanded nowadays causing rehabilitation problem for thousands of inhabitants. Moreover the multinationals are having an eye over the tremendous bio-diversity reserves. The moment Government is not able to pay back the debts, our forests would be denuded rapidly causing environmental and ecological hazards for the entire nation. The real owners of the forests were the villagers at one time. The British snatched them away and earned revenue out of them which was to be sent to Britain. After we got independence, our own government did not return them to villagers. They rather made the existing regulations more stringent. Uttarakhand government in has issued a forest regulation recently which is the worst ever example of greed and control. The entire people are up against it but to no avail. This is another example of violation of human rights in Uttarakhand but a lot more homework is necessary to declare such cases as the violation of human rights.