Rawat seeks Rs 2000cr green bonus from PM

Dehradun: Chief minister Harish Rawat on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sanction Rs 2000 crores green bonus, on the lines of the north-eastern states apart from other financial helps to Uttarakhand. The grant might help in overcoming huge losses suffered by the state owing to forest department’s strict laws.
Rawat made this appeal while addressing the newly constituted Niti Ayog’s first meeting in New Delhi on Sunday. Niti Ayog came into being months after the central government abolished the Planning Commission.
A senior IAS officer who participated in the meeting along with CM Rawat, said, apart from the green bonus, Rawat has also requested PM Modi to constitute Central Himalayan Council (CHC) modeled on North-Eastern Council (NEC) to help the Himalayan states including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh within a few weeks. The forest laws come on the way of launching development projects in the Himalayan states.
Rawat clarified, once this council is constituted, financial assistance to these states will be granted on the basis of its recommendations periodically based on state’s requirements on different fronts.