Government Of Uttarakhand

The Government of Uttarakhand is a state government and is the supreme governing authority of Uttarakhand, with thirteen districts present in its territory. The three government bodies of the state of Uttarakhand are the executive, legislative, and the judiciary, each led by the Governor, the Chief Minister, and the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand, respectively. Like the rest of the Indian states, the governor of Uttarakhand is appointed by the country’s President, however, most of the executive power is vested with the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. The department of tourism of Uttarakhand and agriculture are among the most profitable departments of the state, contributing majorly to its GDP. 

Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand

Since the formation of the state of Uttarakhand, 10 chief ministers have served the state so far. Most of these chief ministers have been from two national political parties – the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress. At present, Pushkar Singh Dhami is the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Before him, Tirat Singh Rawat served for just over 100 days. Before Tirath Singh Rawat, Trivendra Singh Rawat served as the state’s Chief Minister from March 2017 to March 2021. 

The current Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami from the Bharatiya Janata Party, was sworn in for the second time in 2022, and all the major leaders of the BJP party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, were present at his swearing-in ceremony. This is his second victory as the 12th chief minister of the state. His party became the only party to retain power for two consecutive terms since the formation of Uttarakhand. 

Trivendra Singh Rawat is among the seven living former chief ministers of Uttarakhand and was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He was elected from Doiwala in the first legislative assembly of the state, which was held in 2002. Trivendra Singh Rawat was among those who fought for Uttarakhand’s statehood and was arrested several times in the process. 

Branches of Uttarakhand Government

Legislative 

The Assembly, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and the members of the assembly together form the Legislative branch of Uttarakhand. With the arrival of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Uttarakhand is Ritu Khanduri from the BJP and is an MLA from Kotdwar Assembly. 

In 2017, she was elected to the 4th Uttarakhand assembly and was a member of the committee on Information and Technology. She was also elected for the second term in 2022 to the 5th Uttarakhand assembly with the victory of the BJP in the state and became the speaker of the state assembly. 

There are 70 members in the state assembly, a unicameral legislature, and is present in the two capitals of the state – the summer capital Gairsain and the winter capital Dehradun. There are 14 reserved seats for the scheduled caste and Sitarganj is the 14th reserved constituency of the state’s Assembly. 

Executive 

The Governor, Chief Minister, and the Chief Secretary comprise the Executive branch of Uttarakhand. The state’s governor has power over the state that is equivalent to the power that a President has at the central level. The governor is appointed by the President of India. 

The present governor of Uttarakhand as of 2022 is Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh, former deputy chief of the Indian Army, who has been holding office since 15th September 2021. He was preceded by Baby Rani Maurya, who resigned around two years before her term was over. 

The present Chief Secretary is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an IAS officer who has held office since 2021, along with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. 

Judiciary

The Judiciary branch comprises High Court, Chief Justice, and the District Courts. There are 13 district courts for the 13 districts of Uttarakhand. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra has been the acting Chief Justice of Uttarakhand since 2021. He was previously a judge in the Orissa Court from 2009 to 2021. 

Major departments of Uttarakhand

Agriculture: The minister of Agriculture of Uttarakhand is Ganesh Joshi, elected from Mussoorie. 

Tourism: The minister of the Department of Tourism of Uttarakhand is Satpal Maharaj, and he was elected from Chaubattakhal. 

Education: The minister of the Education Department of Uttarakhand is Dhan Singh Rawat, who was elected from Srinagar. 

Animal Husbandry:  The minister for Animal Husbandry of Uttarakhand, is Saurabh Bahuguna, elected from Starganj. 

Social Welfare: The Social Welfare department minister is Chandan Ram Das, elected from Bageshwar.

Sports: The minister of the state’s Sports and Youth Welfare Department is Rekha Arya, who was elected from Someshwar. 

Forest: The minister of Forest and related fields is Subodh Uniyal, elected from Narendra Nagar. 

Finance: The minister of the state’s finance department is Premchand Aggarwal, who was elected from Rishikesh. 

Conclusion

The government of Uttarakhand is formed by its ministries and departments that together work for the development of the state and its people. Uttarakhand is the sixth richest state in India, based on its GDP, to which agriculture and tourism are the major contributors. 

The tourism of Uttarakhand mostly focuses on the pilgrim sites and national parks that house the most unique and exotic wildlife in the region. Uttarakhand’s economy is fast growing due to the efforts of the government and its officials.