Uttarakhand all set to host first-ever Himalayan states' conclave on July 28

Dehradun, July 27: Uttarakhand will host the first-ever Himalayan states` conclave at Mussoorie on July 28 where the prime focus will be on sustainable development. The conclave will host the Chief Ministers of the Himalayan states - Uttarakhand, Jammu, and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, and Nagaland, along with administrators and specialists.

 

In a series of tweet, CM Trivendra Singh said, “In a first,11 Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) State leaders will meet Hon’ble FM @nsitharaman Ji, @NKSingh_MP ji, @RajivKumar ji, @amitabhk87 ji & other senior officials of GoI in Mussoorie on 28th July to discuss and deliberate the issues faced by IHR states.”

CM Rawat further added that IHR is the section of Himalayas within India, spanning 10 Indian states & 2 districts each of Assam & Bengal and that runs along 2500 kms of Himalayan ranges between Indus river basin in North-West and Brahmaputra in the East.

CM Rawat also tweeted, “Total geographical area of IHR states is approx 591,000 sq. km (18% of India); and it is inhabited by abt 3.8% of the country’s population. The strategic importance of the IHR is evident from the fact that IHR states share borders with 6 neighboring countries.”

“Approximately 9,000 glaciers of IHR store about 12,000 km3 of freshwater and it feeds the headwaters of important north Indian rivers responsible for the well-being of millions in the Indo-Gangetic plains, earning the tag of ‘Water Towers of Asia’, “ added CM Rawat.

CM Rawat asserted that IHR is endowed with rich vegetation & is home to almost 36% of India’s total biodiversity. More than 41.5% area of IHR states is under forests, representing 1/3rd of total forest cover of India & nearly half (47%) of the “very good” forest cover of the country.

 

“There is a consensus in the country preservation and safeguarding of the Himalayan ecosystem is linked to future of India. Himalayan resources of the IHR states are also the resource of the country & hence all the states of the union are its stakeholders,” said CM Rawat.