 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | STATS OF RUDRAPUR | | 1.25 lakh is the population of the city; it was only 88,720 in 2001 | | Rs 12,000 is the average monthly rent for a two bedroom flat | | 55% is the literacy rate, lower than the nation’s 59.5 per cent | | 40 is the number of hotels, despite its growing population | | Drive down from Delhi on the NH-24 towards Lucknow and one will find the Capital’s outskirts and countryside jotted with scores of hoardings wooing those with a good bank balance to plonk their money in Rudrapur. The hoardings are put up by dozens of builders, developers, colonisers that promise an El Dorado. But Rudrapur? Once a small town in the Terai region of what is now Uttarakhand, it was a haven for the migrants from Pakistan and east Pakistan. But due to rapid industrialisation, it has undergone a makeover. A centre of green revolution, thanks to the hard work put in by the farmers, it is now one of the fastest growing towns in north India. The pace of industrialisation has attracted some of the biggest names of Indian industry. Of course, there is the predictable fallout: property prices are rocketing. The rush to pick up property in Rudrapur is such that hoteliers are laughing all the way to the bank. People with two rooms to spare in their modest houses have converted these into guest rooms to capitalise on the increasing inflow of visitors to the small town. A modest accommodation in the city could set the visitor back by more than Rs 1,000—far higher than the rates prevailing in the state capital Dehradun or the nearby industrial belts of Bareilly and Moradabad. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | STATS OF DEHRADUN | | 7 lakh is the population; it was4.47 lakh in 2001 | | 3,088 sq km is the total area of Dehradun | | 69.5% is the average literacy rate of the city | | 2.91% is the per annum population growth of the city | | The development story began five years ago when the then prime minister A.B. Vajpayee announced a special package for the state according to which all industries that started production after March 31, 2007 will be given income tax and central excise concessions for 10 years. This limit has been extended up to March 31, 2010 by the UPA Government. Thanks to this package, the State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCUL) was created and the state government developed an Integrated Industrial Estate in the city. The estate was developed on 3,339 acres of land that was cut out from the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. At least 465 units have been allotted plots, some of which include bigwigs like Tata, Bajaj, HCL, Escorts, Dabur, Britannia and Parle. While construction of 376 units is in full swing, 57 units have already started production. Situated 240 km from Delhi and 360 km from Lucknow, Rudrapur is well-connected to all metropolitan cities. With the nearest airport just 14 km away, NH-87 criss-crossing the city and NH-24 nearly 50 km away, it is no big surprise that investors are making a beeline for the city. Says Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, district magistrate of Rudrapur, “Connectivity was the prime reason behind industrialisation of Rudrapur. Along with this, we are providing a world class infrastructure for the development of industries.” That the city is emerging as the Noida of Uttarakhand has been reaffirmed by Escorts which has invested at least Rs 20 crore and purchased a 7-acre unit to establish a brake manufacturing unit for trains. “Alongside the concessions, we have got a lot of political support with the government agencies disposing all formalities within no time,” says P.C. Sinha, Escorts unit head. Agrees T.K. Banerjee, Dabur’s unit head, “Even in West Bengal, the government officials usually ignore us, but here they do not even take time to meet us and dispose off our requests.” While Dabur has been allotted 17 acres of land and has invested Rs 17 crore in the city, Parle has been allotted 13 acres and it has invested Rs 50 crore. | | | | | 1 HISTORY: The region was a part of the Garhwal kingdom. It was transferred to the Garhwal Division from the Meerut Division in 1968. The state got its share of limelight when in 2000 it became the capital of the newly-carved Uttaranchal, now called Uttarakhand. | | 2 POLITICS: The area comes under Tehri Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency and Vijay Bahuguna recently won the Lok Sabha by-election. It has been represented by chief minister B.C. Khanduri who resigned after he became the chief minister this year.
| | 3 DEMOGRAPHY: According to the 2001 census, the population of the city was only 4.47 lakhs. But after becoming a state capital, its population now stands at 7 lakhs. Though most of the people are from Uttarakhand, there are a number of Punjabis and Biharis.
| | 4 LINKAGE: The city is well-connected by rail, road and air. The nearest airport is about 24 km from the city. Situated 235 km from Delhi, it is a major railhead on the Northern Railway line with direct trains to almost all the major cities of the country.
| | 5 INDUSTRY: Till 2003, there were no major industries in the state. However, after the Centre announced a special package for the state, it has seen substantial industrialisation with the development of Selaqui Pharma City and Sahastradhara Software Technology Park.
| | DECEMBER 2: Usha appears before the police and says that she is a cancer patient who sought solace from the seer. |  | | Not to be left behind, state capital Dehradun is in the midst of a facelift as well. After six years of its promotion as the state capital, the city has seen its population increase manifold. It has also seen a huge influx of population from the state itself and from its neighbouring states due to increased employment opportunities. According to the 2001 census, the population of the city was just 4.47 lakh. However, after it became the capital of Uttarakhand, the population has risen to 7 lakh, most of which can be attributed to the immigration rates. After the Supreme Court banned polluting units in the Dron valley years back, the number of industries in the city gradually dwindled. Industrial activity in the city were negligible till 2003 until the Centre announced the concession package after which the state government established non-polluting units in the city. It has also developed the Selaqui Pharma city and a software technology park in Sahastradhara taking up 65 and 50 acres of land respectively. Most of the land in Selaqui has been allotted to various companies while at Sahastradhara, a dozen companies have already taken up their places and construction is in full swing. While the property rates are on their way up, speculation is rife that by the end of 2010—the time when most units are expected to start their production—the city’s industrial profile would have changed. Says S.P. Tripathi, general manager of sidcul, “These estates are becoming highly successful and premium of the land has increased. We were allotting it initially for Rs 560 per sq meter but now we are selling it through auctions. We have a huge queue of requests but land is a limited resource”. Once known to be a centre for learning due to world-class institutes like the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun is all set to become an industrial hub. Says Pankaj Gupta, president of Industries Association of Uttarakhand, “When the state was formed, the industrial activities were almost zero. But now every type of industry is rushing towards Dehradun.” | | | | | 1 HISTORY: King Rudrachandra of Kumaun dynasty established this village in 1589. After Partition, a large number of refugees settled in the area. G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology was established in 1960 and is nearly 14 km away from Rudrapur. | 2 INDUSTRY: Once the centre of rice mills, Rudrapur is fast becoming an industrial hub. The state has developed an Integrated Industrial Estate in the city which has attracted a number of companies like Tata, Dabur, Escorts and Parle to set up shop here.
| | 3 DEMOGRAPHY: According to the 2001 census, the population of the city was only 4.47 lakhs. But after becoming a state capital, its population now stands at 7 lakhs. Though most of the people are from Uttarakhand, there are a number of Punjabis and Biharis.
| | 3 LINKAGE: Situated 240 km from Delhi and 360 km from Lucknow, Rudrapur is well-connected. While the airport is just 14 km away, NH-87 criss-crosses the city and NH-24 is nearly 50 km away—these have helped in its transformation into an industrial hub.
| | 4 POLITICS: The city falls in the Nainital Parliamentary constituency and Rudrapur-Kichha assembly constituency. While K.C. Singh Baba is the MP now, N.D. Tewari, K.C. Pant and his wife Ila Pant have represented the constituency in Lok Sabha in the past.
| | 5 DEMOGRAPHY: After Partition, there was a huge influx of refugees from west Punjab to the city. After the war in 1971, a lot of people from east too settled here. However, since industrialisation, the city has seen huge-scale immigration from eastern Uttar Pradesh. |  | | However, though the phenomenal industrial growth gives the state a cause to celebrate, the problems are not far behind. When 57 units started production two years back, around 3,000 employees suddenly turned up in Rudrapur for which the small town was not ready. In the absence of adequate housing, the property rate skyrocketed. Importantly, the rising number of immigrants has given a fillip to the hospitality sector. The Radisson Group is all set to construct a three-star hotel in collaboration with Assotek-Supertek. Both Assotek and Omex builders have been allotted 50 acres each to develop housing complexes. Also, in the pipeline is a super-speciality hospital for the rising needs of the city. Ramesh Midha, the owner of Rudra hotel which started only last year, says, “Occupancy in our hotel is always more than 90 per cent and we always have advance bookings for the rooms.” With a number of showrooms like Levi’s, Adidas and Reebok coming up, Rudrapur has only grown more consumerist. To cater to this rising need, it may soon see a mall decorating its skyline. The industrialisation has found favour with the farmers. Balwant Singh of Jainagar village—hardly 5 km from Rudrapur—had two tractors from which he used to earn Rs 200 per day. But by lending them for the construction work, he now earns Rs 800 per day. For both Dehradun and Rudrapur, it’s time to reap the seeds of industrialisation sown by septuagenarian chief minister and prime minister. And for the new state Government led by B.C. Khanduri, the challenge is to maintain this speed of growth and possibly, to accelerate it even further.
| | PICTURE SPEAK | |  |  |  | | The Selaqui Pharma city and Sahastradhara technology park are some of the major centres of industrialisation in dehradun. | | | Rudrapur is fast emerging as the Noida of Uttarakhand with the city attracting investments from most of the industrial bigwigs. | | | Hoardings in Delhi beckon investors to Rudrapur. Farmers too are savouring the fruits of industrialisation. | | Index |
