E-Paper
819 panchayat buildings constructed or rebuilt in four years: Uttarakhand govt
State says over 7,000 km roads made pothole-free; work on ropeway projects to major shrines progressing.
The Uttarakhand government has constructed or rebuilt 819 panchayat buildings in the state over the past four years, the assembly was informed on Tuesday.
Providing the information during Question Hour, panchayati raj minister Satpal Maharaj said the work was carried out following directions from chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to improve rural infrastructure and rebuild dilapidated panchayat facilities across the state.
According to the minister, Uttarakhand has a total of 5,867 panchayat buildings, of which 1,134 had been in a dilapidated condition for a long time. The state government subsequently directed the panchayati raj department to undertake a campaign to reconstruct or renovate these structures.
“In the past four years, the department has completed the construction or reconstruction of 819 panchayat buildings. Work on the remaining buildings is also in progress,” Maharaj told the assembly. The minister said the initiative was aimed at strengthening grassroots governance by ensuring that village-level administrative institutions function from proper infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the state government also said that more than 7,000 kilometres of roads have been made pothole-free as part of a statewide drive undertaken by the public works department. According to information presented in the house, the exercise was carried out in line with the chief minister’s directions to repair damaged roads and improve road conditions across Uttarakhand.
During the financial year 2025-26, the department repaired 3,134 kilometres of roads before the monsoon season. After the monsoon, an additional 4,149.17 kilometres of roads were made pothole-free by November 10, 2025.
Officials said the repair work was carried out across several districts, with Haridwar recording the highest length of repaired roads. More than 313 kilometres of roads were made pothole-free in the district alone during the campaign.
The state government also informed the assembly that work on several ropeway projects connecting major pilgrimage destinations is progressing. According to tourism minister Maharaj, a ropeway connecting Kaddookhal to the Surkanda Devi Temple has already begun operations under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Other ropeway projects are currently under construction or in the planning stages. These include the Thuligad to Purnagiri Temple ropeway in Champawat district. Additionally, a ropeway project from Janki Chatti to the Yamunotri Temple in Uttarkashi is being developed under the PPP model to improve connectivity for pilgrims.
The state government is also moving ahead with ropeway projects from Gaurikund to the Kedarnath Temple and from Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib. Officials said the projects are aimed at easing travel to major pilgrimage sites while boosting tourism and improving infrastructure in the Himalayan state.
