NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday. The Chief Minister invited the Prime Minister to the National Games organized in Uttarakhand. He presented a shawl of Malari (Chamoli) and a replica of Narayan Ashram to the Prime Minister.
Chief Minister Dhami expressed gratitude on behalf of the people of the state for the leadership, guidance and cooperation of the Prime Minister in the development of the state. He also briefed the PM about the progress on the development works being carried out in the state, also mentioning that work is progressing rapidly on the first phase of Rishikesh – Karnaprayag rail project. CM Dhami shared with the PM that the survey work of Tanakpur Bageshwar rail project has been completed. Along with this, he requested the approval of this project and the full financial expenditure of the project to be borne by the Central Government.
CM Dhami urged the PM for the closeer of the old railway station of Rishikesh for the proposed basic development works and to operate all trains from the new Yoga Nagari railway station of Rishikesh. He suggested that the railway track on the land of the old station could be used for the new road system, which will improve traffic management in Rishikesh.
Briefing about the progress of Jal Jeevan Mission in Uttarakhand, CM Dhami urged the PM to direct the concerned to release the remaining amount of central contribution allocated in Jal Jeevan Mission soon. Along with this, CM also expressed gratitude to the PM for selecting Rishikesh as an iconic city for river rafting and requested to provide resources from the central level for Haridwar-Rishikesh Ganga Corridor and Sharda Corridor project in view of the limited resources of the state.
The Chief Minister shared with the Prime Minister that an MoU is proposed in collaboration with the Iceland Embassy for the exploitation of geological energy in the state. Necessary no objection letters (NOCs) have also been received from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India. The Chief Minister requested the PM to provide all technical and financial support to the state government for this project so that Uttarakhand can play an important role in achieving the target of carbon net zero by the year 2070.
CM Dhami also requested Central approval regarding the proposals sent to the Ministry of Road Transport, including the Rishikesh Bypass, Haridwar Bypass (Package 2), Dehradun – Mussoorie Connectivity, Dehradun Ring Road, Champawat Bypass, Lalkuan, Haldwani and Kathgodam Bypass and Manaskhand Project.
