Gairsain to be U'khand's Summer Capital, Says CM Trivendra Rawat in Assembly; Meets Long-sought Demand

Dehradun: Uttarakhand will get a permanent summer capital two decades after the hill state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat made the announcement on Wednesday while delivering the Budget speech at Gairsain in Chamoli district.

It has been a long-pending demand of locals to have a capital at Gairsain — a nondescript town nestled in Garhwal some 280 km from Dehradun — the provisional state capital.

The Assembly mostly meets in Dehradun, but occasionally sessions — like the current Budget session — are held in Gairsain. Unlike Dehradun, which is far off from many districts, Gairsain’s has an edge due to its location and proximity with hill districts. Dehradun would continue to operate as the second capital.

“I could not sleep last night (out of excitement) and did not share with anyone that I am going to announce Gairsain as summer capital. I dedicate the decision to hundreds of people who were martyred for (the statehood) Uttarakhand,” the chief minister told News18.

With a single stroke, Rawat has managed to do what his predecessors could not. It was former CM and senior BJP leader Vijay Bahuguna, who had first decided to hold a cabinet meeting at Gairsain in 2012.

Bahuguna was replaced by Congress’ Harish Rawat in 2014 whose government held Assembly session in tents and announced a budget to construct an Assembly building.

He recently took to Facebook and wrote that he could have had registered his name in the “books of history” had he announced Gairsain as the summer capital.

However, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and senior Congress MLA Indira Hridayesh termed the move as “politically motivated”. “There is not even a single rupee provision in the state budget for Gairsain. Is this joke or something?” Hridayesh told News18.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders hailed the decision taken by the government. Former party president and Nainital MP Ajay Bhatt said the BJP had promised in the run-up to Assembly elections in 2017 that it would take a call on the capital if voted to power.

“Now, the government has announced Gairsain as summer capital and it will be a game changer for the development of the hills,” Bhatt said.