At a time when the BJP government in the State is busy highlighting the developmental achievements of the Narendra Modi government in its nine years’ tenure in the Centre, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara alleged that the Modi government has remained apathetic to the developmental interests of Uttarakhand.

Citing instances of the Centre’s apathy towards the development of the State, the Congress leader said that the Modi government has not cleared funds regarding some ambitious development projects of the State which, if implemented, could have provided new means of income for the people. “This reveals that the Modi government is the least interested in the development of the State,” he said.

Slamming the Centre further, Mahara said that as Uttarakhand has limited sources of income, the externally aided projects can prove instrumental in the development of the State. “But the BJP government at the Centre has been sitting on such projects, harming the long-term developmental interest of the state. Even those externally aided projects which were earlier approved are in jeopardy for lack of funds and the funds spent earlier on the projects may go down the drain,” he said, adding that as many as 11 Centrally aided projects worth Rs 20,236 crore have remained in pipeline because of ceiling imposed by the Centre and it is uncertain whether they will ever be executed or not.

He further said that the Dhami government’s boast of making Uttarakhand a model State rings hollow. “The ground reality stands in contradiction to the saffron boast of development,” he said.

The State Congress president urges the Union finance minister to immediately release the funds for the already approved projects of the State.