Uttarakhand Foundation Day: 25 Years On, The Capital Question Still Remains Unanswered

As Uttarakhand marks 25 years of its formation, one unresolved question continues to divide the hill state: where is the real capital?
When the state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh on November 9, 2000, Dehradun was declared the temporary capital. But even after two-and-a-half decades, the demand to make Gairsain – a picturesque town in Chamoli district – the permanent capital has not faded.
In June 2020, the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government declared Gairsain as the summer capital. Just a few kilometres away, a sprawling state assembly complex at Bhararisen stands as a symbol of the incomplete promise.

Hold sessions in the hills

Bhagat Singh Koshyari, former Maharashtra Governor and head of Uttarakhand’s first caretaker government, believes decentralisation

is the way forward. “The government should regularly convene assembly sessions at Gairsain (Bhararisen) and shift major directorates to the hills. That’s how the capital issue can be resolved,” Koshyari told News18. The capitaldebate resurfaced recently during a special assembly session held this month to mark the state’s silver jubilee. Several MLAs demanded the government take a clear stand. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reiterated that his government remains “committed to the development of the hills”. “It was the BJP government that declared Gairsain as the summer capital,” Dhami said in the House.

देहरादून में “उत्तराखंड राज्य स्थापना दिवस : रजत जयंती उत्सव” के अवसर पर आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी ने देवभूमि के विकास को गति देते हुए ₹8260.72 करोड़ की विभिन्न जनकल्याणकारी योजनाओं का लोकार्पण व शिलान्यास किया। साथ ही आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री जी ने PM फसल बीमा योजना… pic.twitter.com/TqbmidlwED

— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) November 9, 2025

Leaders divided, debate deepens

Former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, a member of the erstwhile UP Reorganisation Committee, feels the matter is being exaggerated.
“Several states have dual capitals. We can easily manage like them. The issue is being raised only by those with vested interests,” Nishank told News18, adding that a few offices could be shifted to Gairsain.
Within the Congress, too, there is no consensus. Senior legislator and former minister, Tilak Raj Behad, backs Dehradun as the permanent capital, arguing that the city already has the required infrastructure.
His view, however, clashes with that of veteran leader and former CM Harish Rawat, who openly supports Gairsain.
Garhwali singer and activist Narendra Singh Negi questions this political inconsistency.
“Why did Harish Rawat not declare Gairsain as the capital when he had the authority as the Chief Minister,” he asks.

आदरणीय राष्ट्रपति जी देवभूमि उत्तराखंड के ‘राज्य स्थापना दिवस : रजत जयंती उत्सव’ पर प्राप्त आपके स्नेहपूर्ण संदेश और शुभकामनाओं के लिए हृदय से आभार।

आपके आशीर्वचन हम सभी उत्तराखंडवासियों के लिए प्रेरणास्रोत हैं। आपके मार्गदर्शन एवं शुभाशीष से राज्य निरंतर विकास और समृद्धि की नई… https://t.co/kP1AlJJA59

— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) November 9, 2025

The game of capitals

Uttarakhandis not alone in managing dual capitals.
In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier this year announced plans to develop Dibrugarh as a second capital alongside Guwahati.
Down south, Andhra Pradesh has adopted a three-capital model – Visakhapatnam (executive), Kurnool (judicial), and Amaravati (legislative).
Closer home, Himachal Pradesh functions from Shimla and Dharamshala (winter capital), while Jammu and Kashmir alternates between Srinagar and Jammu.