Uttaranchal

Infrastructure

Basic infrastructure - ahead of the national average

Uttarakhand compares favourably with the all India aggregates in term of the spread of basic infrastructural facilities. A useful index of this is the access of households to different infrastructure facilities. On these parameters, the state figures well ahead of the national averages.

While the per cent of households with electricity connection in 2001 was at 60 per cent, those with source of drinking water within the household premises were at 44.8 per cent. The spread of financial services in the state is also robust, as the state ranks fourth with respect to the proportion of households availing banking services.

Source: Census 2001

Transport & Communication Network

Roads

• From 2006-07, total length of road network was 28,508.58 km.
• Then national highways coverage stood at 1328 km, and the state highways coverage stood at 1553 km in 2006-07.
• 9,419 villages out of a total of 15,656 were well-connected as in March 2005.
• Public works department of the state has planned several build-operate-transfer projects under public private partnerships.

• Deployed 345 km of rail routes by 2005-06.
• As on March 31, 2005, density of rail routes is 6.45 route Km. per thousand Km.
• State plans to increase the share of railways in cargo and passenger transportation.
• Efforts being made in conjunction with the Urban Development Department to establish ‘Mono Rail System’ in Dehradun, Haridwar, and Rishikesh and their inter-city linkage routes.

Airways

• State aims at positioning air-transport as a reliable all-weather transport option in hills.
• Upgradation work at the Pantnagar airport to facilitate international flights is under progress.
• Government has allocated US$ 0.23 million for construction of at least one helipad per district.

Communication Infrastructure

The state has a well-developed communication network which includes both wired and wireless connectivity.

Urban Infrastructure

• Urban infrastructure development became a priority sector for the state government since 2005-2006, with an allocation of US$ 20.33 million for its activities. This was further increased to US$ 58.84 million for the year 2006-2007.
• State housing projects have been taken up under various urban infrastructure development projects. 275 acre housing project in Haridwaris one of the instances of such projects.
• With an aid of US$ 15.12 million from the Government of India, conservation and rejuvenation project of Naini Lake and four other lakes in the surrounding areas have been taken up.
• Concentrated effort to ensure supply of pure drinking water. State government is encouraging traditional methods of water harvesting like nauley, dharey, chal and khal.
• In 2005-2006, US$ 76.28 million was the spend on improvement of water supply systems. Government proposes to spend US$ 86.05 million on further improving the water supply in the state in 2006-2007.
• Government has undertaken development of total sanitation systems for villages in the state
• Worked at developing the waste disposal system under ‘Total Sanitation’ campaign
• Partial sewer arrangements have been provided for one-third of the towns in the state

Financial Infrastructure

Uttarakhand is host to a number of banks and financial institutions. During 2002-03, the state had 646 nationalised bank branches and 173 regional rural bank branches. The state also has significant presence of commercial, co-operative and cooperative agriculture and rural development bank. Credit to deposit ratio stood at 24.8 per cent during the year.

Natural Resource Advantage

Covering an area of 53843 sq km, uttarakhand has a very diverse topography ranging from plains in the south to snow covered peaks in North. About 65 per cent of the geographical area of the state is covered under forests.

Source: Indiastat

Rural Infrastructure
 

Source: Statistical Diary Uttarakhand 2001-02

Despite the topography of the state, basic infrastructural facilities like access to drinking water and primary school are available to most of the villages at less than 1 km distance. Existence of secondary schools, health care centres and transport facilities are available to the village residents within a 5 km radius.

Social Infrastructure – Health

The state has a good network of hospitals and health centres; health and population policy were laid to improve the quality of life of the populace, with focus on developing an effective health infrastructure. Following objectives were laid down by the state in its health and population policy:

• Eradicate polio by 2007
• Reduce the level of leprosy to below one per 10,000 population by December 2007
• Reduce mortality on account of tuberculosis, malaria, and other vector and water-borne diseases by 50 per cent by 2010
• Reduce prevalence of blindness from around one per cent to 0.3 per cent by 2010
• Reduce Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) by 50 per cent of the present level by 2010
• Increase awareness on HIV/AIDS

Social Infrastructure – Education

The state acclaims some of the country’s best institutes of higher learning which include:

• GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar
• Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
• Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
• GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Almora
• Rural Biotechnology Complex in Kosi and Herbal Research and Development Institute, Gopeswar

With a current literacy rate of 72.28 per cent, the state strives to achieve 95 per cent literacy rate, for which it has adopted a trifold strategy with the following elements:

• 100 per cent enrolment
• 100 per cent retention
• Continuous education programme

The state plans to achieve 100 per cent computer literacy for students by the end of the tenth five-year plan. For this purpose the state has worked at improving the IT infrastructure at all levels, beginning with educational institutes.

Industrial Infrastructure

• State has transformed an essentially agrarian state into a hub of industrial activity. During 2005-2006, the state successfully developed three Integrated Industrial Estates (IIEs) at Haridwar, Pantnagar and Sitarganj, Pharma City at Salequi, Information Technology Park at Sahastradhana (Dehradun), and Growth centre at Siggadi (Kotdwar).
• In 2005-2006, Uttarakhand also saw the development of 20 private/joint/co-operative sector industrial sectors in public private partnership mode.
• Some of the other efforts made in this direction include provision of broadband connectivity for all industries in the state and proposed strengthening of single window – contact, information and facilitation mechanism from 2006 to 2007.

Infrastructure: New Initiatives

For a nascent state like uttarakhand, it is important to assess the new initiatives taken by the government to augment infrastructure facilities rather than focus entirely on existing infrastructure.

Power

Uttarakhand is being developed as an ‘energy state’ to tap its immense hydro power potential of 20,000 MW. The state aims to increase its capacity to 5,000 MW hydro electric power by 2011-12. The state has simultaneously supported alternate sources of power generation; solar water heaters with heating capacity of 97,500 litres per day, seven biogas-bracketing plants, 12 solar plants, and a state level energy park in Dehradun. In 2006-2007, the number of electrified villages rose to 15,547.

IT: Enhancing the presence of IT and ITES services in the State

The state has established a Software Technology Park of India earth station at Dehradun. Meanwhile, the proposed earth stations at other locations have positioned Uttarakhand well with respect to provide high speed connectivity. Information Technology department has actively worked in developing two Information technology parks in the state 2005-2006. The Uttarakhand State Wide Area Network (USWAN) project proposed has been approved by the Government of India. By the end of 2006-2007, the state intends to have the required Information Technology Infrastructure for USWAN and data centre in place.

Special Economic Zones: uttarakhand to host four of the forty-eight export zones in India

Vavasi Telegence have proposed to set up a SEZ at Pantnagar. The SEZ will focus on biotechnology, agriculture and food processing industries.

Tehri Dam Tourist Area

The Tehri Hydro Development project is one of the highest multipurpose projects to be built across river Ganges. The Tehri Dam Tourist Area can well establish as a major hub of recreation and entertainment at National and International level. The site offers immense tourism opportunities and boasts of excellent infrastructure support. The tourist area has 24 hour uninterrupted power and water supply and is connected to all major cities.

Water Resources

The State Cabinet has decided to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the World Bank for a new drinking water scheme. Under the Swajaldhara scheme, the World Bank would provide approx. USD 103 millions loan to the State Government to cover those areas, which are facing drinking water shortage.

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