DEHRADUN: In a blow to Uttarakhand’s two-decade-long quest for a permanent capital, the state government has decided to lift the ‘freeze zone’ designation from land earmarked for the Assembly and Secretariat, effectively shelving the 2023 master plan aimed at establishing a fixed seat of governance.Housing Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundaram confirmed the development, stating, “A proposal for this will be prepared and brought before the Cabinet.”The state has held Assembly sessions alternately in the temporary capital Dehradun and the summer capital Gairsain for 25 years. The freeze zone, intended to block development in areas reserved for key government infrastructure, was imposed in March 2023. A notification was issued by the Town and Country Planning Department, allowing five months to draft a Master Plan. However, more than two years later, the plan has not materialised.A government spokesperson said, “Despite the stipulated five-month period, the Master Plan could not be finalised even after two years.” The freeze had halted construction and development across a large stretch, from Raipur to Thano Road in the north, the main Haridwar Road in the south, east of the drain to Haridwar Road in the west (excluding the Ordnance Factory boundary), and from Bhopal Pani to Barasi Ground and Kali Mati village boundary in the east.Sources indicated that the Assembly and Secretariat proposal failed due to administrative inertia and practical hurdles. Adding to the delay, the land identified for the Assembly did not get final clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. Although ‘in-principle’ approval had been granted, the state government delayed submitting required details, leading to the approval being revoked.Local pressure also played a role in the government’s decision to revoke the freeze. Shantanu, a resident of the affected zone, said, “For two years, people in villages like Balawala, Nakraunda, Nathuwawala, Gullarghati, Harrawala, Kuanwala, and Ranjhawala have been unable to carry out construction on their own land, despite owning it.” He added that he had appealed directly to the Chief Minister to lift the freeze.Environmental concerns further complicated the project. Environmentalist Dev Raghavendra told TNIE, “The state government had previously decided to cut 2,155 trees for the proposed assembly building in Raipur’s Bhopalpani area. The building was planned within approximately 60 hectares of reserved forest in Bhopalpani, which could have had a very adverse impact on the environment.”The lifting of the freeze zone is now expected to offer relief to affected residents, but it also marks a major retreat from the state’s longstanding ambition to finalise a permanent capital.
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