NEW DELHI: Uttarakhand wants Centre to treat people of the state as a special category like scheduled tribes and give them reservation in employment and education.

It will also ask the Centre to provide “green bonus” to the state for preserving forests in the country.

At the same time, cognizant of its status as political rival to BJP, Congress is using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s priority to rejuvenate Ganga and “clean India” to seek clearance for pending projects recommended by Uttarakhand. The state argues that its financial status has dwindled after the Kedarnath floods and the Centre should help it tide over the trouble by financing key projects.

Threatening to flex its muscles on these tricky demands, the state Congress will hold a big day-long demonstration in the capital on Thursday, to be led by state chief Kishore Upadhyaya, civil society groups and concerned citizens.

In what may put another polarizing issue on the table like the statehood demand of the 1990s, Upadhyaya said the state has specific cultural features and social practices like the northeastern states whose people are considered tribal.

“The people of Uttarakhand should have been considered for the same affirmative action long back. It was also one of the demands of the statehood movement,” he argued.

The state wants that its green efforts as the “lungs of the country” be rewarded with a ‘green bonus”, a cash reward that should be linked to development projects. The demand is seen as important in view of rising debate on climate change and mitigation efforts.

Sources said the state will also press the Centre for a metro project from Dehradun to Haridwar, railway projects in the hill regions and renewal of the ‘industrial package”.

Upadhyaya said while the PM has expressed his sentiments for “Holy Ganga”, he should also give special treatment to the land of the river’s origin. “We appeal that the proposal sent by the state government for conservation and cleaning of Ganga be cleared,” he added, also seeking Rs 10 crore to make “clean India” a success.