PM Modi launches projects worth ₹17,500 crore in Uttarakhand, announces ‘New Year gift’ for Haldwani

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 23 projects worth over ₹17,500 crore in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani. Among these projects is a branch of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Udham Singh Nagar, for which the Prime Minister laid a foundation stone.

PM Modi also addressed a gathering in Haldwani, where he announced a ‘New Year gift’ for the people of the district. “We are bringing a scheme worth ₹2,000 crore for the development of the overall infrastructure of Haldwani, for water, sewage, road, parking, street lights,” he said.

The Prime Minister also lauded the capabilities of the people of Uttarakhand and the projects inaugurated today, saying that these will make the coming 10 years the ‘decade of Uttarakhand’.

According to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), these projects cover a wide array of sectors/areas across the state including irrigation, road, housing, health infrastructure, industry, sanitation, drinking water supply.

Among the projects for which foundation stones were laid by the Prime Minister is the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project to be built at a cost of about ₹5,750 crore. This project was first conceived in 1976 and lying pending for many years.

It will enable irrigation of 34,000 hectares of additional land, produce 300 MW hydro power and supply drinking water to the six states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.

There were multiple road projects that were also inaugurated or for which foundation stones were laid. Among them are four-laning of 85 kilometre Moradabad-Kashipur Road – to be built at a cost of over ₹4000 crore; two-laning of 22 Kilometre stretch of Gadarpur-Dineshpur-Madkota-Haldwani road (SH-5) and 18 kilometre stretch of Kiccha to Pantnagar (SH-44); construction of 8 kilometre long Khatima bypass in Udham Singh Nagar; construction of four lane National Highway (NH109D) being built at a cost of over 175 crore.

These road projects will improve connectivity of Garhwal, Kumaon and Terai region and also the connectivity between Uttarakhand and Nepal.

The AIIMS Rishikesh satellite centre and Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College at Pithoragarh will be built at a cost of about ₹500 crore and ₹450 crore respectively.

This will be the second AIIMS in the hill state after the one in Rishikesh which was established back in 2012 and will not only help the people of the Kumaon and Terai regions but also the bordering areas of Uttar Pradesh.

Thursday’s inauguration events come months ahead of the high stakes assembly elections in Uttarakhand. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won the elections last time in 2017, is aiming for a second consecutive win.

The other top contenders in this year’s elections are the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).