There has been unprecedented development in Uttarakhand during the past two years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Stating this while addressing the media in Rudraprayag on Saturday, cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj said that important works have been done for expanding the road network, strengthening Panchayats, women empowerment, education, health, welfare of the poor, farmers and youth, and boosting tourism.
Maharaj said that he is confident that the people of Uttarakhand will vote in the Lok Sabha election to re-elect Modi for a third term. He said that during the past two years, a strict anti-conversion law was brought to check religious conversion while the nation’s strictest anti-copying law was brought to prevent the use of unfair means in competitive exams. The Uniform Civil Code bill was passed in the Vidhan Sabha while effective action is being taken against encroachment. “The State government has developed various circuits to promote religious tourism in the State. Under the Manaskhand Mandir Mala mission, 48 temples in the Kumaon region have been selected with 16 being taken up in the first phase wherein infrastructural development work has been started. Similarly, works costing Rs 225 crore have been done in the first phase of Kedarnath reconstruction while works costing Rs 273 crore are being undertaken in Badrinath to develop it as a smart spiritual hill town under PM Modi’s guidance. The State government has approved five projects in Mana village under the Vibrant Village scheme while Sari village in Rudraprayag and Bagori in Uttarkashi are being developed as model villages for rural tourism. Masterplans are being prepared to develop Jageshwar, Mahasu Devta- Hanol, Gangotri and Yamunotri on the lines of Badrinath and Kedarnath,” he said.
The minister informed that 2,960 kilometres of roads had been constructed at a cost of Rs 2,449 crore during the past two years. Financial and administrative approval has been received for the multipurpose Jamrani dam project while the same approvals have been received for the Song dam project for drinking water supply in Dehradun and suburban areas. Similarly, approval has been granted for construction of 900 Panchayat Bhawans during the past two years. Referring to steps taken for women empowerment, he said that provision for 30 per cent reservation for women had been made in government jobs in addition to different schemes aimed at making women financially independent.
