Chief minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday reached out to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime minister-elect Narendra Modi hoping that his government would fulfil all promises that he made for Uttarakhand’s development during his campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
“I congratulate Modiji for the unprecedented victory his party recorded in the LS polls…I hope that all the promises he made for the state’s development during his poll campaign will form part of his government’s policy decisions for their speedy execution,” the CM said.
“I will also meet him (Modi) after he takes over as the PM and will also present before him the blueprints of various development related projects for the state that await central assistance,” he told a press conference in the state capital.
Rawat hoped that the Modi government would sanction an additional central assistance of Rs 4,000 crore required for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the areas of the state that were ravaged by last June’s deluge.
“We need those funds for relocation of as many as 283 villages that had been ravaged by the last year’s flashfloods,” he said. According to Rawat, the Centre had also sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore for various reconstruction and rehabilitation projects after the rain disaster hit the state last year.
{{/usCountry}}“We need those funds for relocation of as many as 283 villages that had been ravaged by the last year’s flashfloods,” he said. According to Rawat, the Centre had also sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore for various reconstruction and rehabilitation projects after the rain disaster hit the state last year.
{{/usCountry}}“I felt the requirement of additional funds after I carried out a close evaluation of the various ongoing projects relating to rehabilitation and reconstruction,” he said.
Congratulating all the five newly elected BJP MPs from Uttarakhand, the CM hoped that they would also help speed up all the ongoing centrally-aided development projects sanctioned for the Himalayan state.
In that connection, he referred to four ongoing projects relating to the proposed Doiwala-Rishikesh-Karnpryag railway line, Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway line, Tanakpur-Joljivi border road and Jolinkong-Manali road.
Rawat also hoped that the Modi government would continue to provide central assistance for Uttarakhand as part of the special policy introduced by the outgoing PM Manmohan Singh for the development of the Himalayan states.
“We will be happy if the Modi government agrees to extend the period of various facilities like tax holiday for the state’s industrial development up to 2030,” the CM said. To a query, he said he was focused on restoring the disaster-hit Chardhams so that the yatra (pilgrimage) to the state’s religious destination could be carried out uninterrupted.