DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government on Monday formally declared Gairsain as the summer capital of Uttarakhand with governor notifying the same.
Trivendra Singh Rawat, chief minister of the state said, "I congratulate people of Uttarakhand on this monumental. We, together have achieved the milestone, no one else could. I thank the people of the state for this."
The notification by the governor of Uttarakhand Baby Rani Maurya dated June 8, 2020, stated, "The Governor is hereby pleased to give her assent for declaration of Bhararisen (Gairsain) in district Chamoli as summer capital of Uttarakhand."
Making Gairsain capital of the hill state of Uttarakhand was also one of the promises in 'Mission Document' of the BJP in 2017 state assembly elections.
In March this year, during assembly session in Gairsain of Chamoli, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had announced that Gairsain will be the summer capital of Uttarakhand.
The announcement came after almost two decades after the formation of Uttarakhand in the year 2000. The town with around 12000 residents surrounded by lush green hills with oak forests awaits its elevation to the permanent capital of the hill state.
The commission formed in the year 2001 got 10 extensions and submitted a report favoring Dehradun as the permanent capital of Uttarakhand.
On the lines of National Capital Region (NCR) in Delhi, Uttarakhand state government will be building the 'State Capital Region' (SCR) around recently announced summer capital Gairsain.
The limits of the proposed SCR will also cover districts of Chamoli and Pauri apart from Chamoli where Gairsain town is located.
Gairsain town is located 250 kilometers from Dehradun at 5,410 feet elevation spanning around 7.53 square kilometres with a population of around 12000.
Due to rugged and hilly terrain of the area, creation of facilities and infrastructure matching to the stature of the capital such as health, education, roads, transport will be a challenge, said the residents of the hill state.
The scenic hill town is connected by roads including National Highway 109 connecting the town with cities of Haldwani, Ramnagar, Ranikhet, Dwarahat, and Karnprayag.
No railways or airport is available in the town. However, plans to build an airstrip were announced by the then CM Vijay Bahuguna in the year 2012.
At present, a Nagar panchayat the town has four government schools including two primary schools and three hospitals.
The source from inside the state government told that once modified as the summer capital, the detailed project report (DPR) to building SCR will be prepared with the proposal of world-class health facilities, schools, and universities.