Industrial Development in Garhwal:

An lndustrywise Appraisal

Chapter V. outlined the various schemes for promoting

industry operational in Garhwal. This chapter focusses its

attention at outlining the status of a ~ew industries and the

problems being faced by them. This chapter provides an

opportunity to deviate from Government documents and focus

attention on the real issues raised by the people of this region

themselves.

Wool Based Industry

Wool based industry, i.e., spinning and weaving of wool and

knitting of woolen products such as blankets, sweaters, shawls

mufflers, caps and other garments, and carpets, has been

practiced by the people of Garhwal for centuries. The industry

is primarily household. Traditionally, many families as well as

merchants kept large herds of sheep which were utilized not only

to obtain wool but as an important means of transport. Sheep­

rearing being a nomadic occupation, they were used to transport

wool and woolen products while migrating to the plains in the

winter. In summer, many daily necessities such as salt, Jaggery

were loaded upon their backs for supply in to the hills. In a

cold climate, clothes and blankets were made out of wool. Woolen

carpets and sheep skin was also used for laying on wooden floors

to keep the house cozy. Two types of sheep may be found in the·

area. One is the Desi sheep whose staple is short and texture

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coarse. This kind of wool was used in Northern Tehri for making

coarse blankets that are quite warm. The other kind of sheep are

imported Tibetan sheep which are high-legged and the staple

obtained from them is long and soft. This kind of wool is mostly

utilized in Charnoli and Uttar Kashi weaving good quality shawls,

blankets and carpets apart from knitting garments. Joshirnath,

Gopeshwar and Gochar in Charnel i are important concentration

points of wool industry. Chakrata, Kalsi and Vikas Nagar in

Dehradun too inhabit household occupied in this trade. Uttar

Kashi too is an important center of wool making and woolen goods.

However, since the trade is almost entirely household or village

based, it is scattered all across Garhwal Mandal and a large

number of rural families use sheep and wool to fulfill their

daily needs.

During field work, it was realized that contemporary w_ool

industry and trade is wrought with serious problems. The Indo-

Chinese war of 1962 ended the prospects of importing good quality

wool and sheep from Tibet and substantially compromised the

trading activities of Jads, a nomadic tribe native to Uttar Kashi

surroundings, which exchanged wheat, barley~ rice, jaggery, ghee

etc with Kharnpas of Tibet, who brought sheep, wool, salt and

borax. The changing character of life in Garhwal and the touch

of modern amenities such as roads has also cast an adverse effect

on this occupation. People are getting increasingly unwilling to

adopt the profession of sheep rearing due to many reasons. The

task of being a shepherd is quite tedious. They have to live in

forests and deserted surroundings for a long time which their

life is endangered. Moreover, due to the changing pattern of

living, these people desire to dispense with this profession if

an alternative is found. Due to the difficulty in obtaining prior

permission from forest officials for grazing sheep and an overall

scarcity of pasture land shepherds are confronted with the

problem of feeding their cattle. Therefore, whenever they fall

short of money, they are forced to sell sheep to a butcher or to

anyone on the way who enjoys eating meat and can pay a good price

in return. Due to this the supply of locally spun wool ha~

remained stagnated and Government Departments have undertaken to

procure wool from other areas too.

Although the occupation was completely household,

unorganized and scattered across the landscape of Garhwal among

village, nomads and households, yet the Government made a

stringent effort to take over the trade and centralize it in to

Government run centers. This effort began during the second plan

period in 1959-60 and has continued on the same lines till today~

A range of centers was established in selected areas to deal with

various facets of the wool industry such as carding, finishing

and spinning of wool; its distribution among weavers and

spinners; their training, the marketing of woolen products and

providing financial assistance for purchasing sheep, looms and

knitting machines. The net effect of increased Government

involvement has been to reduce the traditional weaver to the

status of·a wage labourer who can only earn 900 to 1000 Rupees

per month at the most. Since Government control all aspects of

wool trade from the availability of fodder for sheep to the

actual marketing of woolen goods, the scope for private

entrepreneurship has lapsed. Those weaver, spinners and knitters

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who are not employed at Departmental production centers are at

considerable disadvantage since they have no network to support

them.

Two distinct opinions were gauged regarding Government

involvement in wool industry. The first opinion underscores the

need for Government to limit its functions to assistance and

withdraw itself from actual production and marketing. According

to this opinion, the task of the Government should be limited to

the provision of raw material and economic assistance, design

improvement and to arrange for the sale of material produced

independently. It should not employ spinner, weavers and knitters

as labourers and restrict the scope for their growth. The other

opinion states that the survival of this industry will be

completely jeopardized if Government was to withdraw. These

respondents stated that it was due to the involvement of the

Government that the average production of wool per sheep had

improved from a mere 350 Grams to around 1400 Grams after 1976-

77. They further claim that individual weavers, knitters or

spinners will not be able to survive without Government

protection. It is difficult to understand this logic however

since the industry had survived for centuries without Government

involvement on the basis of household production.

Another severe hindrance is the multiplicity of departments

involved in the wool industry. These departments function without

coordination and their sphere of operation overlap. In all, there

are at least six departments dealing with wool industry ln

Garhwal. these are: the Khadi and Village Industries Board of

U.P., the Directorate of handlooms, Agencies approved by the

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Khadi Board such as Gandhi Sevashrarn, the U.P. Handloorns

Corporation, the Directorate of Industries and the Scheduled

Tribes Development Corporation of Garhwal.This demarcation did

not exist before 1960 when the Directorate of Industries was the

only department in charge of all aspects of industrial

development. The demarcation was made for the sake of better

performance. However, Without a clear demarcation of roles, this

multiplicity leaves the craftsman confused. Moreover, it makes

the collection of data regarding employment and production in the

Garhwali woolen industry almost impossible. Since data on same

indicators has to be collected from various departments whose

centers are located in ~ifferent areas and directions in the

hills. An easy classification between these departments is a

differentiation between Khadi and Handloom centers. Khadi centers

utili-ze hand spun wool for production of different i terns on

handloorns. While the Handloorn center utilize machine spun yarn

for production on handlooms. But this classification too does not

help much in assessing the contribution of this industry to the

Garhwali economy.

Some spinners revealed that most of the profitability in

this trade lies in the actual marketing of finished products.

Since their role has been reduced to that of a labourer, they can

hardly earn a modest living by working at the production centers

started by various departments. Therefore, it would be safe to

conclude that the benefits of lofty schemes designed to promote

the wool industry in Garhwal have not reached the real target

groups, i.e., the real craftsman. If his role is limited to that

of a labourer only, then there are so many avenues for selling

232

labour. Furthermore, a large section of weavers, knitters and

spinners are women and many among them are actually tribal hill

women. The real input of money in to their households as a result

of practicing this trade is not more than 20-30 rupees per day.

And that too is irregular. I also met a couple of enterprising

villagers in the Gopeshwar area during field work (one of them

was a Gram Pradhan) who organized production of wool at the

village level and themselves went to Ludhiana in order to sell

it to mills for garment production. But the number of such people I

is limited. The are some relatively prosperous people who are

running carpet and shawl making units across Garhwal on their

private initiative. But their quantity is limited to about 40-45

units. These people hire labour (mostly female labour) for making

carpets or shawls. The average number of labourers hovers around

5. However, it increases to about 8-10 workers if the market

demand rises. Production as well as hiring of labour depends upon

the procurement of orders and many times during the year, these

units go nonfunctional. Sometimes they also organize carpet

exhibitions in key tourist area during summer and autumn and this

is an occasion to do brisk business. These key places are

generally Mussoorie, Joshimath, Srinagar. Carpet being an

expensive commodity, its market is restricted to upper middle-

class and rich people. It is not an item of daily consumption.

These entrepreneurs also depend upon some shops that stock their

goods and production in their units remains dependent upon orders

received from them. However, the.general plight of all spinners,

knitters and weavers is poor and their normal function is to act

as labour. The master craftsmen employe4 at the Uttar Kashi and

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Dehradun centers for providing handloom training also complained

about the low honorarium of 500 rupees a month paid to them. In

the mid-seventies, banks across - Garhwal started a scheme to

provide small loans to women workers for purchasing knitting

machines. These women procured wool from a shopkeeper who acted

as a middle man between them and the actual customer. He also:

provided the designs and issued guidelines on production. They

are paid a fixed price on a piece by piece basis. The average

price for normal category sweaters is 30-50 rupees. ·~orne category

of sweaters may fetch a higher sum. The scheme has worked well

and the number of such women across Garhwal is estimated to be

5000 or above. This scheme however, remained concentrated in

urban and semi-urban areas of Garhwal Districts and many knitting

machines did not reach the villages. In urban and semi-urban

areas, this occupation was adopted by nongarhwali women too.

Marketing is a serious problem faced by knitters across Garhwal.

Unless a middle man is available, their products remain unsold.

The market for hand made sweaters, shawls, Mufflers, caps etc is

also limited due the functioning of large factories in Punjab and

Northern India engaged in manufacturing such products in bulk.

These factory products are also sold in shops across Garhwal and

severely restrict the selling scope of Garhwali craftsmen and

women.

Statistics given by the Khadi Boar reveal that the

production and sale of woolen products in the hill region has

declined between 1993-1994 and 1994-95 due to the inadequate and

irregular supply of raw material to production centers. Between

1993-94, the production under the Hill Wool Scheme was 80.77 Lakh

234

Rupees. While the sale for this year was about 74 Lakh Rupees.

While during 1994-95, production declined to 30.50 Lakhs and sale

to approximately 13 lakh Rupees. Employment generation in the

Hill Wool Scheme also came down from 5387 persons in 1992-93 to

2000 persons during 1994-95. The contribution of Garhwal Mandai

is not more than thirty percent. Exact figures regarding the

employment generation and production under the Hill Wool Scheme

specifically for Garhwal Mandai were not made available despite

repeated attempts.

Rabbit Wool

On account of the increasing r~luctance by people to

continue in the nomadic occupation of sheep rearing and the other

difficulties underlined above, attention of some wool

entrepreneurs was shifted towards the rearing of Angora rabbit

for obtaining rabbit wool. The example in this regard has been

taken from Himachal Pradesh where many Angora farms are

functioning since 1970's .. Around 24 Angora farms are functioning

in the Garhwal Mandal under private initiative. Government

attention in this direction has not been drawn. The underlying

logic behind adopting rabbit rearing as a profession was that it

would be less tedious than sheep rearing. The demand for good

quality Angora wool as raw material for manufacturing garments

was also large and the occupation was expected to yield good

profits. However, a number of difficulties have reduced the

profitability in this trade. Spinning Angora wool is more labour­

intensive and tedious. The fiber obtained from the rabbit is

very slippery and tender. Consequently spinners demand a higher

payment and are reluctant to work unless paid higher.

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Furthermore, an imported synthetic material imitating Angora wool

is available at a cheaper price to mills manufacturing finished

products from Angora woo~. Technology for mechanized spinning of

Angora wool is not yet available. Consequently, production is

limited. Pure Angora wool fetches a higher price. However, since

its spinning is very tedious, sheep wool or synthetic yarn has

to be mixed. When the wool is ready for sale, its has to confront

harsh competition from synthetic Angora wool. Consequently, mills

try to depress the purchase pr1ce and the rabbit reqring

entrepreneurs are left at a loss. This industry, therefore

requires Government support in the following areas. Development

of technology for mechanized spinning of Angora wool is

essential. If mechanized spinning is not possible, then special

instruments designed specifically keeping in view the tender and

slippery character of Angora fiber must be made. This will

provide encouragement to entrepreneurs as well as spinners whose

work would be eased considerably. This trade also needs

encouragement through financial assistance in the form of loans

to rearers and spinners.

Herbal Industry

Ever-since the second plan, the Government has pledged that

the availability of medicinal and cosmetic herbs in the hill area

would be exploited with a view to develop it as an industry and

provide alternate employment. Subsequently, the collection of

herbs was entrusted to the Cooperatives department. The

Department encourages the formation of Pharmaceutical

cooperatives (known as Bheshaja Sangha) which are permitted to

collect herbs from the forest and obtain remuneration. During

236

field. work, it was discovered that about 200 small Ayurvedik

pharmacies are functioning in both rural and urban areas of

Garhwal Mandal. These pharmacies prepares concoctions and potions

for all sorts of minor and major diseases such as cold and cough,

general health, tonics, hair oils, medicines for Piles, diabetes,

skin allergies etc. Some prominent pharmacies have succeeded in

getting famous and have grown substantially such as Amritdhara,

Weasels and Himalayan Drugs. These three supply products across

the nation and many of their products have become household

names. However, most such pharmacies are very small that have no

recognition are target ruralfolk as a market. Their production

remains between 10000 to 20000 rupees at one go. Production is

generally irregular, depending upon the availability of orders

and money supply. There are some units that either do not have

drug licenses or they do not come under the purview of this

requirement. Nearly all of these units are those which are run

by such families that have or had a Vaid or Haqeem in their

household. Leaving the handful of prominent ones apart, the rest

are very small and unorganized, employing just one or two people

for processing, mixing, mashing or grinding and packing. Most of

them are household and provide employment for family members as

long as they are willing to work.

During field work, it was revealed that no significant

effort has been made in the direction of sustainable development

of medicinal herbs. Most of the people engaged in this trade

complained that while herbs were getting extinct day by day, no

efforts were being made to grow them for future generations or

to preserve them for the purpose. Apart from entrusting the task

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of herb collection to pharma cooperatives and providing some

support for them 1 the Government has not done much to promote

this occupation. Even though, it is advertised in all plan

documents as a promising alternate industry. Some people

questioned the wisdom of entrusting herbal development to the

Cooperatives Department despite the fact that the Department has

no botanical experts or agricultural scientists to provide

expertise on its various aspects such as the development of

seeds, preservation of plants and promoting their growth. Some

people argued that the task of herbal development should instead

be entrusted to the agriculture, forests or horticulture

department. Recently I a Herbal Research and Development Institute

has been established at Chobatiya to look in to the various

aspects of herbal development. Another common complaint was

regarding the exploitation of local herbs by external Companies.

It was pointed out that these Companies such as Hamdard, Jhandu

and Dabar procure many herbs from this region and have captured

a large share of the national market for Ayurvedik health tonics

and Sharbats. If these Companies can exploit such resources, why

can the Government not promote such industry within the region?

Handicraft

Apart from wool based activity, a number of other handicraft

have been practiced across Garhwal by tradition. Some of these

crafts continue to function till date while others have been

rendered extinct mainly on account of the scarcity of raw

material, finished demand for such products and the replacement

of traditional processes by modern technology and synthetic raw

materials. The production of baskets and mats from Ringal is one

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such handicraft. Ringal is a variety of Lakh plant whose fiber

may be used for weaving. Traditionally, it was practiced in many

parts of Garhwal, especially along the banks of Bhagirathi and

Bhilangana rivers in Tehri Garhwal and Chamoli. presently, the

condition of this trade is quite pitiful. A Ringal training and

production center has been established at Chamoli with a view to

keep this trade alive. This center trains ten persons a year. A

small stipend of 40 rupees a month a paid to trainees. The exact

quantity of people practicing this craft is not known. Inquiries

revealed that about 1500 to 2000 Ringal craftsmen are stile

continuing in this occupation across Garhwal. The occupation is

severely restricted due the scarcity of Ringal wood.

Manufacturing of hand made paper from Satpura 1s another

traditional cottage industry practiced mainly in Tehri and Pauri

at choprakot, Dhaijuli and Kandarsyun. Hand made paper found its

market in Government offices as well as household consumption and

was also supplied to the adjoining plain areas. This practice

continued during British rule and until the middle of this

century. With the commercial production of paper starting at full

swing with the establishment of paper mills in the Saharanpur

region, this trade has shrunk to the verge of extinction. Its

contemporary market is limited to the production of thick paper

for manufacturing envelopes for invitation cards as well as cards

themselves. The Khadi Board has made some attempt to promote this

occupation mainly in the Dehradun region. But the trade is

considerably ill due to the nonavailability of Satpura as well

as severe competition from paper mills and large scale stationary

manufacturing units in the plains. The actual profits may only

239

be realized when the envelopes and cards (mostly for weddings)

are ready. Till then, this paper is only a raw material and does

not fetch much profit. Its consumption in Government offices was

stopped long ago due to the availability of cheaper commercially

produced paper. The production of water proof material from Hemp

is another traditional industry which is going extinct. Hemp lS

also known as Rambans, Bhangal and Bheemal in Garhwal. It is

utilized to make very strong and durable water proof cloth, bags,

sacks, and ropes used by fishing boats. The best quality of fiber

is obtained from the male hemp plant. The stocks are cut when

they are green and then they are left to dry in the sun for

several days till they turn brown. Thereafter, they are tied in

to bundles and submerged in to water for about two weeks or so.

Later, these bundles are removed and dried. Then starts the

procedures of beating them with wooden mallets in order to ease

the pealing. Finally, it is woven in to strong cloth, bags or

ropes. After independence this industry shifted to Dehradun where

attempts were made to promote it. But due to the shortage of

Rambans, it did not prosper ~uch. On account of its quality to

resist water induced rotting, the success of this industry, if

promoted at a cottage level is assured. Contemporarily, Rambans

is being utilized to make fences for protecting agricultural

fields and private property. But its use and manufacturing is

restricted to Nainidahda and Bhabhar. The Government has also

promoted the growing of Rambans in nurseries. A major problem is

that the stock of this plant contains acid which is released as

soon as it is beaten. The acid causes skin problems such as burns

and sores. There is an urgent need to use electric powered

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machines for grinding its leaves. The manufacturing of Catechu

or Kaththa is another traditional occupation of this region.

Catechu or Kaththa is obtained from Khair chips. In 1919, a

catechu manufacturing unit was established at Bareilly which

sounded the death-knell of this occupation in Garhwal. Most of

the Catechu used in Garhwal now comes from the plains. While

Khair is made available for 'commercial production of Catechu to

units in the plains, it is rarely available for local

consumption. This discrimination has dampened its , prospects

severely. AnOther traditional occupation of this area is wood­

carving. Generally, Papri, a tender wood, is used to make

artistic toys, decorative pieces and models of Badrinath

Kedarnath temples as well as religious deities; utensils for

cooking and storing commodities such as Surahi, Ketli, Jugs,

Bowls, Spatulas, Madani, a klnd of special Ketli for making

Tibetan tea etc. In order to promote training, production and

marketing of Papri products, a few center have been setup at

Chamoli, Tehri, Pauri and Uttar Kashi. However, the allowance

made to trainees is really insignificant, i.e. , 60 rupees a

month. After completing training, the craftsmen are given loans

from commercial banks to start their individual production. A

modern production center using machines for wood carving has

been established at Uttar Kashi. Wood-carving, turning and

clustering centers are also operational at Chakrata and Kalsi

under the Tribal Development Scheme. Another wood-carving center

is also functional at Mussoorie. Apart from woodcraft, stone-

carving was also practiced as an occupation. Generally, models

of temples, gods and goddesses as well as pots were made from a

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tender stone called Khariya. A training and production center for

stone-carving is functional at Chamoli. These products are no

longer in daily consumption as they have been replaced by modern

materials. There only significance is artistic and decorative.

This is the only method left to promote them. In addition to

this, a number of carpentry units, leather work units, pottery

and glassware units are functional across Garhwal primarily

catering to micro level markets in their respective localities.

Accurate figures regarding their employment and production are

not available.

During field work it was realized that the present day

status of persons engaged in these handicrafts is very poor. The

major problems faced by them are being epitomized below. The

foremost problem faced by them is of the unavailability of raw

material. These industries are heavily. reliant upon forest

products, such as Papri, Ringal·, Rambans, Bhangal, Satpura Khair,

Leesa, etc. All of the raw material for these occupations is now

under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department. The Forest

Department provides this material either to Government

departments such as Khadi Board, Directorate of Industries etc.

Alternatively, it is auctioned to the highest bidder. Craftsmen

have no direct access to such raw material since they are

disadvantaged in both cases. Government Departments have a

monopoly in collecting and stocking such raw material from the

Forest Department. The distribution of this raw material is made

by the State Administration according to the priori ties of

various industries operational throughout the State. Since the

industrial base of this area is weak compared with other

242

divisions of U.P., Garhwal is at a disadvantage in the al~ocation

of raw material. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to obtain

raw material for running handicrafts. On account of major changes

in the management of forest resources over the past two

centuries, the quantity of uniculture plant species that serve

as raw material for such handicraft has declined significantly.

While traditionally single specie forests were abundant across

Garhwal, it is no longer the case now. Handicrafts based upon one

type of raw material used to spring up in an area where raw

material for that occupation was abundant. This is no longer the

position today. The Government is not particularly keen upon

encouraging the cultivation of raw material species to feed these

handicrafts on a commercial basis. Moreover, whereas previously

such raw material was available free of cost or on barter

exchange , now it has to be purchas_ed.

Another major problem is related to the marketing of

handicraft products. Traditionally, these were exchanged by

craftsmen for food grains and other daily needs. Today, these

goods are not in daily consumption. Their significance is only

artistic and decorative. Consequently, tourists are the only

market for such products. Most of the marketing in this sphere

is being done by organizing Handicraft Weeks and Exhibitions

where the target group is the tourist who is interested in buying

souvenirs to carry back with him. The barter system itself is no

longer in practice. Most of the training cum production centers

for such products have now been established near key tourist

centers. Since selling of such products by individual craftsmen

is limited, the only course left for them to eke out a living is

243

to associate themselves with a production center or to attach

themselves with a shop that sells artistic and decorative

products. Consequently, their status (like that of the knitter,

weaver and spinner) has been reduced to that of a wage earner.

Horticulture based Industry

Government's attention towards horticultural development of

this region was drawn during the second plan itself. The

potential for developing horticulture based industries was also

realized. At that time, some fruit canning and preservation

centers were also established. During the fifth plan 1974-79, an

ambitious project with Italian collaboration called the Uttar-

Parwat Actini Intrade was envisaged with a total cost of 9.8

Crore rupees. The project was to consist of three mobile units

to collect fruits, milk and water and two stationary units

located in this region itself for processing fruit products were

proposed to be established. This. industry was also registered by

the Government during 1978-79. 1 However, nothing was heard about

it subsequently. The establishment of fruit based industry within

Garhwal appears to be a low priority for the Government. This may

be said after looking at the seventh and Eight plan documents for

the Hill Region. Although the Government needs to be commended

for the efforts made in the direction of increasing productivity

and marketability of fruits in this region, the subject of

locating fruit processing industry does not carry much weight in

its policy. The emphasis is upon an all-round development of

fruit cultivation and its speedy transportation to urban area

1. Government of uttar Pradesh I Hill Region Annual Plan 1978-79, Hill Development Dept. p.l93. -79, p.l93.

244

markets within the region as well as the large Mandi of Sahibabad

near Delhi. A sum of 35 Crore Rupees was spent on horticulture

development during the Seventh plan. An outlay of 80 Crore Rupees

has been proposed for this head during the Eighth Plan for

Uttrakhand. The production of fruits was estimated to rise from

4. 2 Lakh Mts to 6 Lakhs Mts from the 7th to the Eight Plan

period. Recently, the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam has announced

a proposal to establish two fruit juice extraction units at

Dehradun and Uttar Kashi each. Juice extracted by these units

will be marketed at the restaurants and hotels of Garhwal Mandal

Vikas Nigam across Garhwal. The Eight plan too deals with all

aspects of horticultural development from the establishment of

nurseries, running courses to train prospective garden owners and

fruit cultivators, to the transportation and marketing of

cultivated fruits. But the question of establishing fruit

processing industry engaged in making juices, jams, sauces etch

has been unattended. Explaining the logic behind this tendency,

an official in the horticulture department remarked that while

the market for raw fruits was vibrant, the corresponding market

for processed fruits was limited to a section of society only.

A Garhwali cultivator could realism a very good income by

efficient management and speedy transportation of fruits while

they were fresh instead of indulging in complicated manufacturing

processes. Manufacturing fruit products such as jam, jelly or

fruit cocktails was a technology intensive task and would not

succeed in this area due to a lack of infrastructure and a poor

industrial base. The market for such products does not exist in

Garhwal and the transportation cost would restrict profit making.

245

Furthermore, the disposal of waste matter after such products had

been made was threatening to the environment and would not be

given environmental clearance. This is the reason as to why the

Government had postponed the idea of fruit based industry and

limited itself to the cultivation and marketing of raw fruits,

vegetables, mushroom and spices. He also revealed that while it

is possible to attract outside investment in fruit cultivation,

it is impossible to persuade entrepreneurs from the plains to

establish a processing unit in this area due to the poor

industrial performance and base of this region. During field work

it was found that about one dozen household units were engaged

in the production of fruit concentrates, jams and sauce across

Garhwal. Their major target were the semi-urban and rural areas

and the tea stalls located therein. These units face a very

unequal competition from branded manufacturers, and their

products were knocked out by brand names in this field in urban

areas where the consumer is educated. During the later eighties,

the Uttar Pradesh Finance Corporation had financed about four

processing units in Dehradun. All of them have closed down. To

sum up, while there is tremendous scope for the cultivation and

marketing of raw fruits, the establishment of fruit based

industry has not received much impetus.

Some Major Industries Established by State Corporations

The Garhwal Mandai Vikas Nigam established An Integrated

Wood Works Unit is functional at Guyana, Uttar Kashi which was

established during the Fifth plan with a total cost of 5314 Lakh

Rupees and an employment potential for 15 persons. A Wood and

Wool Unit was established at Munni Ki Reti with a total cost of

246

4.42 Lakh Rupees and a potential for employing 15 persons. A

resin and Turpentine unit was established at Tilvara, Chamoli

with a total cost of 66 Lakh rupees and a potential for employing

170 persons. A petrol pump with a total cost of 2 Lakh Rupees was

established at Gopeshwar. A Cement and Concrete Block making unit

is operational at Tehri. A Flush Door factory is working at

Kotdwara. Apart from these, Cooking Gas Agencies, petrol pumps,

tourist lodges were also established. The Nigam also undertakes

tourism development activities, construction of hotels, lodges

and restaurants, resin tapping, marketing of ginger, potato,

Malta and apples, and is charged with the responsibility of

fixing a minimum support price for fruit in the Garhwal Mandal.

These units and schemes are functional till today.

The Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation of Garhwal

established two carpet and shawl weaving centers at Joshimath and

Chinka where design improvement is also undertaken. A showroom

for selling the products of .such centers was set up at Dehradun.

In order to provide wool to tribal weavers, a wool sale depot was

also established at Chamoli. Taat-Patti and Tweed production

centers were also proposed to be established at Jonsar and

Chinka with a capacity of 20 looms each.

The Uttar Pradesh Agro Industrial Corporation established

a Fruit Processing factory at Kotdwara DISTRICT PAURHI, with a

total cost of 12.65 Lakh Rupees and an employment generation for

16 persons. a packing case manufacturing factory at Karan Prayag

in Chamoli, with a total cost of 10.40 Lakh Rupees with a

potential for giving employment to 22 persons. and an Olio Resin

Factory at Dehradun with an estimated cost of 10 lakh rupees.

247

,

Electronics Industry

Electronics industry received special encouragement after

the seventh plan guidelines on eco-friendly industries in the

hills were issued. 2 The following units are operational either

under the aegis of U.P. Hill Electronics Corporation or Hiltron.

Satya Electronics Ltd Dehradun; Electronics and Computer Training

Center Mussoorie; Manufacturing of Television Sets and Two-in­

ones on cooperative society basis at Kotdwara; Electronics

Testing and Design Center at Munni Ki Reti; Garhwal Electronics

Training Center at Munni Ki Reti; a Television Factory at New

Tehri on a cooperative basis; Electronic hobby Centers at

Ranipokhri, Dehradun, Pauri, UttarKashi, Tehri, andChamoli have

been setup. The primary objective of hobby centers is to

sensitize school children to electronic processes and computers.

Hilltron has established special industrial complexes for

locating electronic units at Dehradun, Munni Ki Reti and

Kotdwara, where industrial sheds are available for setting up

electronic units only. The idea behind the establishment of

Electronics Testing and Design centers is to provide technical

information, repair and maintenance, prototype development, data

bank on design development. Hilltron has also engaged itself in

several promotional measures such as the establishment of dish

antennae to transmit TV programs in to the remote corners of

Garhwal. Hilltron is also engaged in the repair and renovation

of discarded ·electronic medical appliances procured for this

purpose from hospitals. funded by the Union Government, equipment

2. Please refer to the section of Seventh Plan 1n Chapter IV.

248

worth six crores has been repaired till date. A computer software

training center at Dehradun is also functional. Two electronic

cooperatives have also been setup at Uttar Kashi with the

objective of manufacturing watches. However, much of the

attention has been devoted to training while actual manufacturing

and assembly is still lagging behind.

Some Statistics on Industrial Development 1n Garhwal

In the preceding pages, we made an attempt to understand the

schemes and programs for industrialization of Garhwal. This was

followed by an appraisal of some industries and the problems

faced by them. This section concentrates on presenting

statistical data on the status of industrial development in

Garhwal as it stands today, and as it has evolved over a period

0

Year

1981-

82

1982-

83

1983-

84

f t

Table 6.1.

i m

Districtwise Number of Small Industries

Registered Under the Factories Act of 1948

(Capital Less Than 20 Lakhs)

e

Tehri Uttar Chamoli Pauri Dehradun Manda!

Kashi

4 2 9 78 93

4 2 9 80 95

3 2 8 79 91

249

U.P.

5236

5438

5115

Year Tehri Uttar Chamoli Pauri Dehradun Mandal U.P.

Kashi

1984- 4 8 81 89

85

1985- 6 9 87 102 6005

86

1987- 4 6 102 112 6809

88

1992- 226 492

93

1993- 235 498

94

1994- 76 88

95

Note: the number of un1ts for Dehradun and Tehrl for the last

three yearsrelates to working and operational units. While the

remaining figures are for factories registered.

Large and Medium Industries (Capital More Than 20 Lakhs)

Year Tehri Uttar Chamoli Pauri Dehradun Mandal U.P.

Kashi

1981- 2 10 12 479

82

1982- 1 11 12 564

83

250

Year Tehri Uttar Charnoli Pauri Dehradun Mandal U.P.

Kashi

1983- 1 1 19 21 1099

84

1984- 1 1 18 20

85

1987- 1 17 18 689

88

1985- 1 14 15 500

86

Note: Desp1te repeated VlSlts and rernlnders, the D.I.Cs dld not

make the relevant figures with respect to registered large

industries for the years 1992-93, and later.

Workers in Registered Factories

Year Tehri Uttar Charnoli Pauri Dehrad Mandal U.P.

Kashi un

1981- 131 83 226 9273 9713 666823

82

1982- 132 82 233 10210 10657 790739

8:3

1984- 186 290 9892 10368

85

1985- 182 279 10074 10535 573944

86

"

251

Year Tehri Uttar Chamoli Pauri Dehrad Mandal U.P.

Kashi un

1987- 105 321 7335 7761 613006

88

1992- 698 1110

93

1993- 676 1055

94

1994- 197 460

95

The table above, does not indicate any clear tendency of growth.

The quantity of small, medium and large industries has been

rising and falling unevenly. However, there is a clear indication

of decline in the number of working small units in Dehradun and

Tehri over the years 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95. The number of

workers too has declined. While the figures for U.P. present a

general picture of growth, the figures for Garhwal do not reflect

a clear and sustained growth in the number of registered units

from 1981-1988, and the number of working and operational units

as given by D.I.Cs for Dehradun and Tehri. The figures for

unregistered small, khadi and village industries across Garhwal

are given in chapter V. It is also noteworthy that there is a

wide disparity between the ;number of units registered by the

D. I. C. and the number of units operational. The D. I. c. of

Derhadun has registered 664 units under the food processing

252

category and 1848 units under the electronics category. The

number of units operational under all categories from 1992-95 has

been given above and makes the disparity amply clear.

253