Chamba craves for development of sustainable resources

Lalit Mohan

People in remote Chamba district are looking for sustainable development projects. Even as the election fervour is catching up, the residents of Chamba are not much amused by the rhetoric of politicians, it seems.

Rakesh Sharma, a resident of Bhatiyat, said: “The major problem for the district is unemployment. There are hardly any avenues of employment for the educated youth in the district. Most of them have to migrate to other states for jobs.”

Pankaj Chowfla, who has set up an agro-based industrial unit in Chamba, said: “There is no dearth of funds coming to the district in the name of development. However, most of these funds are being spent on creating unsustainable assets and buildings, halls or other concrete structures. These structures decay with time and all money spent on these goes down the drain. The government should in fact create sustainable assets that can provide employment to the people of the area and generate revenue sources. Instead of investing the government can also attract private investors to create assets that can provide employment to people.”

Chowfla said there has hardly been any change in agriculture patterns in the district since independence. People used to grow maize in the district and are still following the same pattern. It was high time the government encouraged farmers of the area to switch over to cash crops, he said. 

During the last parliamentary poll, BJP candidate Shanta Kumar promised a cement plant in the district. However, no investor came forward to set up the plant in Chamba due to poor connectivity and remoteness of the area.

Selected under vision 22 programme

Chamba district of Himachal had been selected under the vision 22 programme of the Union government as a backward district from Himachal. It was one of 115 districts selected across the country that were to be developed at a fast pace under the aegis of Union government. The scheme has been named as “Aspirational District Yojana”.

Chamba has been selected under the scheme as it was still backward on various developmental index, as compared to other districts of the state. As per the statistical report of the state government, Chamba district has the lowest literacy rate in the entire state. The literacy rate in the district was 72 per cent, whereas its adjoining district Kangra has a literacy rate of 85 per cent. The district also lacks in terms of tourism facilities. Dalhousie is the only developed tourist town of the district. The district has just 172 registered hotels and guest houses compared to about 500 in adjoining Kangra district.

Out of total 3,257 km road length in Chamba district, more than 50 per cent (2,247 km) was single lane and 251 km can only be trekked by jeeps. The industrial facility in Chamba district was also among the lowest in the state. Only tribal districts of Lahual and Spiti and Kinnaur lag behind Chamba in industrialisation. Chamba has just 83 registered factories that provide employment to 2,304 people. The area under fruit cultivation in Chamba district is also very less at just 7.74 per cent of the total available area, whereas Kangra district has 17.58 per cent under fruit cultivation. There was no canal, tank and tube well irrigation facility available in Chamba district, while Kangra district has 35,684 hectare irrigated area.

Maize and wheat are primary crops in Chamba district and are grown on 90 per cent of the area under cultivation. However, 99.3 per cent of the households in Chamba district are electrified. As many as 99.4 per cent schools have toilets for girls while there are 96.3 per cent boys’ toilets. Under the Aspirational district scheme, all government departments were asked to chalk out their action plan for developing Chamba district. The overall action plan was to be sent to the government of India after reports from all government departments were received. However, no budget has been allotted under the scheme to Chamba district for development so far.

Was more developed before Independence

Interestingly, Chamba district was more developed than other areas of Himachal before Independence due to the far-sighted rulers of the erstwhile Chamba state. Chamba had hydroelectricity since 1908 as the Rajas of Chamba had constructed a powerhouse named as ‘Bhuri Singh Power House’ in 1908. Besides Sham Singh Hospital, Leprosy hospital and other infrastructure, including bridges, were also built. The former rulers of Chamba had also conserved immense forest wealth of Chamba.However, surprisingly, after the Independence, the development in the district has dwindled down due to the apathy of successive governments.