Gairsain Declared as the New Summer Capital of Uttarakhand

A number of Vidhan Sabha sessions have been held at Gairsain so far.

File image of Assembly House in Gairsain.

(Photo: ANI)

Bhararisain (Garisain) in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand has been declared as the summer capital of the state, a notification by the state government said on Monday, 8 June.

“The Governor is hereby pleased to give her assent for declaration of Bhararisen (Gairsen) district Chamoli as the Summer Capital of Uttarakhand State (sic),” the notification undersigned by state Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh said.

Ever since the creation of Uttarakhand as a separate state on 9 November 2000, Gairsain remains an emotive issue in the hill state. A number of Vidhan Sabha sessions have been held there so far.

But successive governments never showed seriousness in solving the issue of the permanent capital and also did not consider the report of the VN Dixit Commission, which was set up to solve the imbroglio, IANS reported.

The commission had recommended that Dehradun should be made the permanent capital and rejected Gairsain as it is prone to earthquakes.

The commission had looked into the feasibility of five places – Dehradun, Gairsain, Rishikesh, Kashipur and Ramnagar – as the state capital on several parameters including geographical conditions, population, accessibility, transport system, seismic conditions and security. The commission had submitted its 250-page report in 2008 to the then BJP government.

(With inputs fro IANS.)