New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17,500 crore. Among the 23 projects, the foundation stone were laid for 17 projects worth over Rs 14,100 crore.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project to be built at a cost of about Rs 5,750 crore. This project was first conceived in 1976 and was lying pending for many years. "Modi's vision to prioritise long pending projects is the force behind the project's foundation stone being laid. This project of national importance will enable irrigation of about 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," a statement from the Prime Minister's Office(PMO) said.
These projects cover a wide array of sectors/areas across the state including irrigation, road, housing, health infrastructure, industry, sanitation, drinking water supply. The programme witnessed the inauguration of six projects including multiple road widening projects, a hydropower project in Pithoragarh and projects to improve the sewerage network in Nainital. The cumulative cost of the projects being inaugurated is over Rs 3,400 crore.
Modi also inaugurated and laid foundation stones for multiple road sector projects worth about Rs 8700 crore, aimed at improving connectivity to far flung areas of the country.
The projects whose foundation stones laid include four lanes of 85 kilometre Moradabad-Kashipur Road to be built at a cost of over Rs 4000 crore; two lanes 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 statement said.
Improved connectivity will also benefit industrial areas in Rudrapur and Lalkuan besides improving the accessibility of Jim Corbett National Park.
Further, foundation stones of multiple road projects all across the state under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna were laid by the PM. The projects include laying of 133 rural roads with a total length of 1157 kilometres at a cost of more than Rs 625 crore and the construction of 151 bridges at a cost of about Rs 450 crores.
The road projects inaugurated by the Prime Minister include a project of 99 kilometre road widening from Nagina to Kashipur (NH-74) built at the cost of over Rs 2500 Crore and projects to widen road at three stretches in the strategic Tanakpur-Pithoragarh road (NH 125) built under all-weather road project at the cost of over 780 crore. The three stretches are from Chyurani to Ancholi (32 kilometre), from Bilkhet to Champawat (29 kilometre) and from Tilon to Chyurani (28 kilometre).
The PMO office asserted that the road widening projects will not only improve connectivity of the remote areas but will also give fillip to tourism, industrial and commercial activities in the region. The strategic Tanakpur-Pithoragarh road will now have all-weather connectivity that will facilitate the unhindered movement of the army to the border areas and improved connectivity for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
The PM also laid foundation stone of AIIMS Rishikesh satellite centre in Udham Singh Nagar district and Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College at Pithoragarh. These two hospitals are being built at a cost of about Rs 500 crores and Rs 450 crore respectively. The improved medical infrastructure will also help the people from the bordering areas of Uttar Pradesh besides the Kumaon and Terai regions.
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Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of about 2400 homes for the economically weaker section in the cities of Sitarganj and Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district. These homes will be built at a cumulative cost of more than Rs 170 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban).
He also laid the foundation stone of 73 water supply schemes across 13 districts of the state under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The schemes will cumulatively cost around Rs 1250 crore and will benefit more than 1.3 lakh rural households of the state.
Further, to ensure regular supply of quality water in urban areas of Haridwar and Nainital, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of water supply schemes for these two cities. The schemes will provide about 14500 connections in Haridwar and more than 2400 connections in Haldwani, benefiting about one lakh population of Haridwar and about 12,000 population of Haldwani.
A 41-acre Aroma Park at Kashipur and a 40-acre Plastic Industrial Park at Sitarganj were among those which Modi kickstarted today. The two projects will be developed by State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation Uttarakhand Limited (SIIDCUL) at a cumulative cost of about Rs 100 crore. The Aroma Park will make use of Uttarakhand's immense potential of floriculture growth because of its unique geographical conditions. The Plastic Industrial Park will be a step to establish the state's industrial prowess and create employment opportunities for the people.
He inaugurated two sewage treatment plants of 7 MLD and 1.5 MLD capacity constructed at the cost of about Rs 50 crore at Ramnagar, Nainital, and laid the foundation stones of the construction of nine sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Udham Singh Nagar, to be built at the cost of about Rs 200 crore; and a Rs 78 crore project for upgradation of sewerage system in Nainital.
He also inaugurated the 5 MegaWatt capacity Suringad-II run of the river hydroelectric project built by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam (UJVN) Limited at Munsyari in Pithoragarh district built at a cost of about Rs 50 crore.
