Centre approves Rs 615 crore to Uttarakhand as special capital assistance

In a boost to infrastructure development in Uttarakhand, the Centre has approved Rs 615 crore as special capital assistance to the state for 37 projects in different sectors.

The development comes nearly a fortnight after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital and sought financial assistance for upgrading the state's infrastructure.

Out of the sanctioned amount, a sum of Rs 380.20 crore has also been released to the state as the first instalment, according to an official statement.

Under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme of the Centre, the Uttarakhand government had demanded a special aid of Rs 619.42 crore for 37 projects in the 2025-26 financial year, the statement said.

The Ministry of Finance has sent a letter to the Uttarakhand government in this regard and informed about the approval of Rs 615.00 crore for 37 projects to the state under the SASCI scheme, it said.

As per the approval issued as special capital assistance, an amount of Rs 218.45 crore has been sanctioned for the construction work of government medical colleges in the state and Rs 70 crore for the Song Dam drinking water project. Besides, Rs 218.45 crore has been approved for the construction of ghats and bypass road on the canal, Rs 36.18 crore for construction of drainage at various places, and Rs 10 crore for administrative buildings of six police stations and 14 reporting police posts, the statement said.

For promotion of start-ups, Rs 10 crore has been sanctioned for construction of U-Hub Start-up Place, while Rs 35.00 crore for water supply system and Rs 47.33 crore for construction of power transmission lines.

Similarly, Rs 82.74 crore has been sanctioned for construction works of higher education and technical education institutions, Rs 25 crore for three schemes of ISBT and modern workshop construction, and Rs 34.72 crore for works of approach road of Dakpathar Barrage and Ichchhadi Dam, etc.

While Rs 34.72 crore has been approved for construction of multi-level parking near Tilak Road in Rishikesh, project of redevelopment of Aadhat Bazaar in Dehradun and works of undergrounding of power distribution network has received Rs 45.58 crore, the statement said.

Dhami, who had requested the Centre for early approval of the projects, thanked Prime Minister Modi for the special capital assistance to the state, the statement said.

The government is engaged with full readiness and commitment to fulfil prime minister's vision of making this decade a decade of development of Uttarakhand, and the state is getting full support from the Centre in this direction, he said.

On July 14, Dhami met Prime Minister Modi and sought financial assistance for upgrading the state's infrastructure.