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New Delhi, October 9 (IANS) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday and discussed several issues related to the hill state.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister thanked the Finance Minister for the financial assistance given to Uttarakhand and congratulated him for the successful implementation of the GST reforms.
Emphasizing on the state’s difficulties, Dhami said there is an urgent need to upgrade urban drainage systems in Uttarakhand due to the state’s ecologically sensitive terrain, high rainfall and rapidly growing urban population.
He informed the Finance Minister that a detailed project report (DPR) worth a total of Rs 8,589.47 crore has been prepared for improving storm water drainage in the ten most rain-affected districts of the state. He requested the Center to authorize these projects under the Special Assistance Scheme to States for Capital Investment.
Additionally, the Chief Minister stressed on speedy approval of Externally Aided Projects (EAPs). Proposals totaling Rs 850 crore for the Public Financial Management Strengthening Project and Rs 800 crore for water supply improvement are still pending for approval, while the Uttarakhand Climate Resilience Development Project has already been approved.
Along with extending the limit of externally aided projects from 2023-2024 to 2025-2026, Dhami also requested approval for four important projects.
These include Water and Sanitation Urban Infrastructure Development Project (Rs 2,000 crore), Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project-III (DRIP-III) (Rs 424 crore), Uttarakhand Climate Resilient Intra-State Power Transmission System Development (Rs 3,638 crore), and Uttarakhand Power Distribution Reliability Improvement Project (Rs 1,566 crore).
“These projects will significantly strengthen the state’s infrastructure, water resources, energy systems and public service delivery,” Dhami said.
Finance Minister Sitharaman assured the Chief Minister of all possible cooperation from the Centre.
–IANS
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