DEHRADUN: With the Uttarakhand Assembly elections fast approaching, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is leaving no stone unturned to woo the electorate across both the Garhwal and Kumaon regions.
In a high-stakes bid to secure a historic third consecutive term for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Chief Minister has cleared a massive wave of financial approvals totaling over ₹728 crore, targeting everything from religious infrastructure and rural connectivity to long-pending rehabilitation grievances.
However, the road to a third straight victory remains a bed of thorns. A resurgent Congress is taking the ruling BJP by the horns, aggressively cornering the government on anti-incumbency, unemployment, and civic bottlenecks and on SIR issue.
To counter the opposition's narrative and shore up grassroots support, Dhami has unleashed a strategic blitzkrieg of development funds across key assembly segments.
The Big-Ticket Push: Haridwar Kumbh and Tehri Rehabilitation
At the heart of the Chief Minister's latest financial outreach is the upcoming Haridwar Kumbh Mela 2027, an event that holds immense religious and political weight just ahead of the polls. Dhami has approved a combined ₹492 crore for the mega-event—comprising ₹175 crore under the state sector for temporary establishments and essential arrangements, alongside ₹317 crore channeled through the Urban Development Department to finance projects approved by the Central Government.
In the same district, an additional ₹2.67 crore has been cleared under the State Plan for three construction works in the industrial BHEL Ranipur constituency.
In another politically significant move aimed at pacifying long-standing local grievances in the hills, the government moved to resolve pending rehabilitation issues related to the Tehri Dam project.
Amending the cash compensation paid in lieu of agricultural land under the 1988 Rehabilitation Policy from a modest ₹5 lakh, the Chief Minister sanctioned a massive ₹132.43 crore package for 178 eligible displaced families.
Bolstering Rural Governance and Regional Infrastructure
Recognizing the critical role of rural local bodies in mobilizing voters at the booth level, Dhami also approved ₹82.21 crore as the third quarterly installment for the 2026–27 fiscal year for all Zila Panchayats across the state. Issued on an ad-hoc basis in anticipation of the Sixth State Finance Commission's recommendations, the payout matches the devolved funds of the 2025–26 fiscal year based on the Fifth Finance Commission's formula.
Beyond macro-level allocations, the Chief Minister's announcements carefully target specific assembly constituencies, blending agrarian relief with cultural outreach:
Road & Civic Infrastructure: In Almora’s Salt constituency, ₹6.13 crore was sanctioned for the blacktopping (asphalting) of the Gairkhet-Balmara-Saraikhet motor road.
Irrigation & Agriculture: Addressing farmers' demands in the Terai belt, Dhami cleared ₹7.84 crore for the renovation of the Upper Baigul Canal from SIDCUL to Pandri in Udham Singh Nagar’s Sitarganj constituency. For hill agriculture, ₹2.54 crore was approved for a lift irrigation scheme in Lweshall village (Ramgarh block, Nainital), along with ₹1.43 crore for a sprinkler-based tubewell in Dhikoliya village (Rikhnikhal block, Pauri Garhwal).
Cultural & Temple Beautification: Tapping into local religious sentiment in his own turf of Champawat, a government order was issued releasing ₹50 lakh (against an estimated cost of ₹87.70 lakh) for the development and beautification of the historic Brahmacharini Mela site in Gogna Tok of Punauli Gram Panchayat.
Similarly, in Pithoragarh constituency, ₹45.03 lakh was sanctioned for the beautification of the Saktya Badbap Temple, including the construction of a boundary wall and a dharamshala in Lamakhet village (Munakot block).
As the political mercury rises in the hill state, Dhami’s sanctioning spree signals that the BJP is banking heavily on visible development deliverables and cultural projects to blunt the Congress party's aggressive campaign and pull off an unprecedented electoral hat-trick.
