Uttarakhand CM Dhami meets Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi

New Delhi [India], July 3 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi and discussed issues related to the state.

CM Dhami requested the Union Minister to finance an amount of 1774 crores for the Song Dam drinking water project under special assistance from the Government of India.

The Chief Minister also requested the Union Finance Minister to remove the ceiling imposed on the loan amount of externally aided projects in view of the special circumstances and limited financial resources of Uttarakhand.

The CM said that due to the increasing population of Dehradun, the demand for drinking water is continuously increasing rapidly.

"In view of this and to provide a continuous drinking water facility in the future, the 'Saung Dam Drinking Water Project' is proposed on the river Song, a tributary of river Ganga. The total cost of the proposed project is Rs 2021 crores. With the construction of the project, 150 MLD Drinking water will be available to about 10 lakh population of Dehradun city and its suburban areas through 'Gurutva'," said an official statement.

After the construction of the project, the dependence on tube wells for the drinking water system will almost end. Apart from this, a lake of about 3.50 km in length will be created by the construction of the project, which will promote tourism in the area, which will generate employment and increase the income of the local citizens. The environment will also benefit from the construction of the lake.

The release further stated, "Another major advantage of this project is flood control. As a result of the construction of the project, about 15,000 population of 10 villages of the Dehradun district will be provided protection from the annual flood in Saung River."

CM Dhami said that all necessary technical, forest land transfer stage-1 and other necessary approvals related to the project had been obtained from the concerned departments/ministries. "For the rehabilitation and resettlement of the families affected by the project, the expenditure of Rs 247 crore will be borne by the state government", he added.

The Chief Minister asked the Union Finance Minister to request the Government of India to finance the remaining amount of Rs 1774 crore under special assistance for the project in view of the limited financial resources of the State Government. The CM also requested to remove the ceiling imposed on the loan amount of externally aided projects in view of the special circumstances and limited financial resources of Uttarakhand.

He said that along with undergrounding of power lines (HT & LT Line) in the main roads of Dehradun under ADB, the work of strengthening the state's transmission system, which includes the construction of power substations and lines, should be done soon. Is.

The CM further requested the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India to approve the above scheme. On this, the Union Finance Minister asked to send a proposal for revaluation so that advance action could be taken. FM Sitharaman assured Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of all possible cooperation.