Linking Environment and Development A Case Study of Uttarakhand

Abstract

newline The state of Uttarakhand came into being after a long struggle from Uttar newlinePradesh because of its distinct topography and socio-cultural differences. The region newlineis rich in natural diversity having plenty of scope for supporting the economy of the newlinecountry through its tourism, water resources, mining and forest resources. As it is a newlinesmall state having only two main ethnolinguistic and administrative regions i.e. newlineGarhwal and Kumaoun, it was imagined that a decentralized structure of governance newlinewill be able to strongly address to the socio-ecological concerns of the people which newlineare directly concerned with the water, forests, land and employment of the young newlinegeneration of the state. With this hope in mind the state came into existence on 9 newlineNovember 2000, as the 11th hilly state of Indian state.