Uttarakhand to send proposal to remove pilgrimage sites from Valley of Flowers ESZ ambit

Dehradun, May 28 (PTI) The Uttarakhand government on Friday said it will send a revised proposal to the Centre to remove popular pilgrimage sites Hemkund Sahib, Ghangharia and the Lokpal temple from the ambit of the Valley of Flowers eco-sensitive zone.

The decision was taken at a state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, cabinet minister and government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal said here.

The cabinet gave its approval to sending a revised proposal to the Centre to remove Hemkund Sahib, Ghangharia and the Lokpal temple from the Valley of Flowers eco-sensitive zone and show them as uninhabited areas, he said.

The cabinet has also decided to implement the chief minister's announcement on the construction of an international eco-park at Muni-ki-Reti, Rishikesh, in society mode.

Named HERBAL, the governing body of the society to implement the Rs 60 crore project will be headed by the chief minister, Uniyal said.

The chief minister will be its chief patron, the state forest and environment minister its patron and the Narendra Nagar MLA its assistant patron.

It will also have a management committee consisting of forest department officials, including the head of the Forest Force, he said.

Muni-ki-Reti in Rishikesh comes under the Narendra Nagar assembly constituency, which Uniyal represents in the Assembly.

The Cabinet also decided to remove the spending limit of Rs 25 lakh on a project out of Rs 1 crore given to every MLA last year for Covid-related work in their constituencies, he said. PTI ALM IJT