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Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [भारत]July 14 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as the central government approved the first tranche of special assistance loan of Rs 451.63 crore for capital investment in Uttarakhand.

According to a press release, the Chief Minister said that the Central Government under the leadership of the Prime Minister has consistently played a supportive role in the development of Uttarakhand. He said that this financial assistance will give a major boost to the infrastructure projects of the state and will help in ensuring timely implementation of roads, healthcare, education, drinking water, tourism and other development works.

Dhami further said that the state government will utilize the funds as per the Government of India guidelines, thereby ensuring complete transparency and quality in the execution of public-welfare oriented capital projects, thereby strengthening the overall and sustainable development of Uttarakhand.

What is special assistance scheme?

It is noteworthy that the Central Government has provided adequate financial assistance to accelerate infrastructure and capital development works in Uttarakhand. Under the Department of Expenditure of the Finance Ministry, the state has been sanctioned the first installment of Rs 451.63 crore (Rs 45,163 lakh) as special assistance loan under the 'Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) 2026-27', the release said.

As per the sanction order issued by the Department of Expenditure, this amount has been released under Part-I (Untied) of the scheme for the implementation of sanctioned capital projects in the state. According to the release, the Government of India has directed that the funds should be utilized strictly as per the guidelines of the scheme for capital expenditure projects sanctioned till March 31, 2027.

The Finance Ministry has also said that the Uttarakhand government will have to reallocate the unspent amount of Rs 53.27 crore from the 2025-26 plan to capital projects sanctioned under the 2026-27 plan. This amount has been adjusted in the first installment.

The 'Special Assistance Scheme to States for Capital Investment' provides interest-free special assistance loans to states to accelerate infrastructure development including roads, bridges, drinking water supply, healthcare, education, tourism and other public infrastructure projects.

This financial assistance is expected to accelerate the implementation of development projects in Uttarakhand, and will also contribute to the overall economic growth and employment generation of the state. (ANI)