Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Congress delegation met with Governor Gurmeet Singh. They complained about the misuse of valuable state land under government protection. They urged the Governor to order a CBI investigation into the matter and immediately revoke the order allocating the George Everest land to the company.
Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee leaders, led by former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, met with the Governor and raised the George Everest land issue with him. They demanded a CBI investigation into the matter and a halt to the lease process for Bairagi Camp land. Congress members stated that the Tourism Department owns 422 acres of land in the Hathi Paon area of Park Estate in Mussoorie, one of the state’s most important tourist destinations. Most of this land was acquired from local landowners between 1990 and 1992 by the then Uttar Pradesh government for tourism development purposes. Since then, this area has been known as the George Everest Estate. On July 19, 2023, Sachin Kurve, then Uttarakhand’s Tourism Secretary, leased 172 acres of this land to Rajas Aero Sports and Adventure Private Limited for 15 years for tourism activities at a rent of only ₹1 crore annually.
According to the terms of the tender, if the land is to be leased for another 15 years, this company will receive priority. This means that the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Council has made all arrangements to lease this land to the company of Acharya Balkrishna, an associate of yoga guru Baba Ramdev, for 30 years. The Congress party says that the current market value of this land in a famous tourist destination like Mussoorie is around ₹30,000 crore. The Congress delegation said that preparations are now underway to lease the land of Bairagi Camp in Haridwar to the same company.
The Congress party has urged the Governor to halt the tender process for Bairagi Camp. Furthermore, the delegation has described the government’s complete failure to address the disaster in the state. In a memorandum submitted to the Uttarakhand Governor, the Congress party stated that electricity and water supply has been disrupted in affected areas, including Dehradun, for three days. Relief and rehabilitation work has stalled, and the risk of disease is increasing. The government appears to be showing no signs of preparedness.
Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat stated that the Congress party has raised pressing issues with the Governor, including the destruction of Uttarakhand’s land and the disaster in the state. Rawat stated that the Chief Minister is visible in the state’s disaster, but the government is nowhere to be seen. The government machinery and ministers are nowhere to be seen in this hour of crisis. It is taking two days to restore water and electricity supply in Dehradun. Rawat stated that debris has entered people’s homes, and no efforts are being made to remove the debris or clean the drains.
