Development Strategy for the Hill Districts of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand, in spite of being a small state, has certain key features that make itdistinct from other states of the country and highlights its potential for development.However, development has predominantly been in the plains, and the hill districtshave been left behind. All the hill districts have subsistence farming as their maineconomic activity. Due to subsistence livelihood, migration and a remittance economyoperate in the hill districts. They are land-locked with huge distances between themarkets and resources. Because of these constraints, traditional agriculture cannot bethe lead sector for development. Thus the state faces the challenge of promotinglivelihoods to minimize migration through local employment and income generation,and to enhance the quality of life of people living in villages.The positive features of these hill districts are that they have enormous potential fortourism, a suitable climate for high-value agriculture, and a pleasant environment dueto 60 pert cent forest cover. These have to be harnessed for a development strategy.The development strategy for Uttarakhand hills should be based on developing brandequity under the name of Organic Green State and an Uttarakhand Brand EquityFund should be set up. This can be achieved by working towards this common goalthrough infrastructure development, tourism promotion, agriculture diversification,poultry- and wool-based livelihoods, and SMEs based on the above that capturelinkages with industry and tourism.