Other States - Uttaranchal   

Khanduri seeks aid for rehabilitation

DEHRA DUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri has sought a special Rs.380.15-crore package from the Centre for rehabilitation and resettlement of families affected by the Tehri Dam project.

Mr. Khanduri told Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde during a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday that the money was needed urgently as about 158 more families would be affected as per the latest submergence area survey conducted by the Survey of India.

The Chief Minister said he hoped this amount would be released soon as the Centre had so far released only Rs.25 crore against Rs.149 crore announced by Mr. Shinde this past February. Similarly the Centre had sanctioned only Rs.30 crore so far against a demand of Rs.248 crore made to the Prime Minister by the then State Government in 2006. Such delays in release of funds were delaying rehabilitation work and leading to much despair for the affected population, he said.

The Chief Minister also sought enhancement of the power pool from 7.3 million units to 8.5 million units per day for Uttarakhand as the power consumption was expected to go up when lakhs of pilgrims and tourists begin arriving in the hill State from May. A proper power supply would help in providing the basic facilities to the visitors besides promoting pilgrimage and tourism in the State, Mr. Khanduri said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Khanduri seeks aid for rehabilitation
2 killed as car rolls down hill

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu