The chief minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami laid the foundation stone of 2,464 houses for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) at Anneki Hettampur in Haridwar on Saturday. These houses would be constructed by the Uttarakhand Housing Development Council with the private participation with a cost of Rs 173.32 crores under of affordable housing scheme of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). Speaking on the occasion, Dhami said that the housing scheme for the poor is a manifestation of successful policies adopted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the state government. He said that the scheme was started by the PM to provide houses to the poor who had no roof over their heads. He said that in the scheme priority is given to the poor women in allotment of houses.  The CM said that work on construction of 22,440 houses is at present going in the state after approval from the Union government. He assured that these houses would be handed over to the beneficiaries by March 2024.

He said that the State government is committed to a transparent, time bound and corruption-free system and under it the process of approval of the maps has been simplified.

Making a mention of digital India mission, the CM said that the State government is providing services such as 24 hours building permit application service, time bound disposal of applications, removing compulsion of visiting the office for clearance of maps and others to the people.

The CM said that the construction of Ram temple is going on in Ayodhya and under PM Modi a clear change in work culture is visible in the country. He said that the Uttarakhand government is working on the principle of simplification, solution and disposal and  a system of  ‘no meetings day’ has been set up in the secretariat so that officers listen and act on the grievances of the public.

The Lok Sabha MP from Haridwar, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said that PM Modi has given the poor the gift of houses. He said that the PM has filled the country with pride. Nishank said that Uttarakhand is in number one position in the development among the Himalayan States and many development works are undergoing in Haridwar. He also congratulated CM Dhami for registering a record victory in Champawat.

Cabinet minister Prem Chand Agarwal said that lakhs of poor are getting houses under the PM Awas Yojana and the dream of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya of development of the person standing last on social ladder is getting fulfilled.

The programme was also addressed by Ranipur MLA Adesh Chauhan, Khanpur MLA Umesh Kumar and Manglaur MLA Sarvat Karim Ansari.