U'khand CM seeks Rs 1,774 cr from Centre for drinking water project

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday sought a financial assistance of Rs 1,774 crore from the Centre for the Song dam drinking water project.

Dhami met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi and requested her that the amount be given to the state under special assistance from the Government of India.

The total cost of the proposed project is Rs 2,021 crore.

To be built over the Song river, a tributary of the Ganga, the project will make 150 MLD (millions of litres per day) drinking water available to about 10 lakh people of Dehradun and its suburban areas, Dhami said.

The chief minister also requested the Union Finance Minister to remove the ceiling imposed on the loan amount of externally-aided projects in view of the special circumstances and limited financial resources of Uttarakhand.

After the construction of the project, the dependence on tube wells for drinking water system will almost end, he said.

Besides, a lake of about 3.50 km length will be created by the construction of the project which will promote tourism in the area, generate employment and increase the income of the locals, the chief minister added.