Infrastructural Report Uttarakhand

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

The state has a good transport and communication network. The state has a total length of 536 km of national highways and 1138km of state highways running through it. The length of metalled roads per lakh of population is higher than the all-India aggregate, though due to the nature of the terrain the length of metalled roads per thousand sq. km. of area is relatively lower.

Source: Statistical Diary, Uttranchal, 2001-02

With a total of 2717 post offices and 196 telegraph offices during 2002-03, the state also has strong postal and communication services network.

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.

Industrial Infrastructure

Industrial Estates and Parks

The State is going to house Integrated Industrial Estates (IIE) at BHEL, Haridwar and Pantnagar. IIE BHEL, Haridwar, will be an ISO 14000 compliant estate with world-class industrial infrastructure, spread over 1500 acres of land in idyllic surrounding of Haridwar. Around 315 entrepreneurs have proposed to establish industries in the IIE with an investment of over USD 524 million and employment of around 18000 persons. The prominent among them are Hindustan Lever Ltd., Anchor Enterprises, Mahindra & Mahindra, Jay Bharat Group, Atlas Cycles, Raja Biscuit, Polar Fans, Vam Organics, Cello Houseware, Sharda Exports, Control Group etc. It will have clearly defined product zones, leisure areas, common facility centres, residential, institutional and commercial area along with a good rail and road network.

IIE Pantnagar- also an ISO 14,000 compliant estate with world class industrial infrastructure is to be spread over 3500 acres of land of which 2500 acres is proposed to be developed as an Special Economic Zone (SEZ). With world-class infrastructure, IIE Pantnagar is slated to be the best of its kind in India.

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: Increased Private Sector Presence to tap the efficiencies

The state has significant hydro-potential (15,000 MW) of which only 1124 MW has been realised. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) signed an agreement with the Uttraranchal government to develop two hydroelectric projects with an installed capacity of 1120 MW - the 600 MW Loharinag - Pala in the Uttarkashi district and the 520 MW Tapovan Vishnugad in the Chamoli district, which would generate 3,525 million units of power a year on completion. The State would get 12 per cent of electricity produced from the projects free. The projects would be set up with a total investment of approx. USD1174 million. A detailed project report is also being prepared by the NTPC on the Lata Tapovan hydel project with a capacity of 108 MW.

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

The State is coming up with a dedicated IT park in Dehradun, for which 40 acres of land has already been acquired. The site offers adequate infrastructure support with a six-inch diameter water supply line and drainage facility. The park is expected to host large number of ITES and software companies that will further give a boost to the demand drivers of the state economy. Also, presence of IT sector in the state is expected to be a major source of demand for commercial real estate.

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

A consortium comprising majors from Germany, Turkey and Holland including Adani Exports and 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.

Source: www.ibef.org