Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of Uttarakhand approved a sweeping set of fund sanctions on 25 July 2026, covering urban sanitation, Kumbh Mela 2027 preparations, temple restoration, ex-servicemen scholarships, and border-village policing outreach across multiple districts of the state.

Context

The Chief Minister's Office announced that ₹6.62 crore has been sanctioned for the purchase of land required to construct an 8 MLD (million litres per day) sewage treatment plant at Tapkeshwar Mahadev, Garhi Dakra Cantonment, Dehradun under the state sector. Simultaneously, ₹41.37 crore was approved for 21 NABARD-funded schemes across Uttarakhand, covering rural infrastructure and agriculture-linked development.

The twin sanction addresses two persistent pressure points for the state: urban wastewater management in the capital and the pipeline of rural projects awaiting central institutional financing. NABARD has been a consistent co-financier of Uttarakhand's hill-district infrastructure for over a decade.

Kumbh Mela 2027 Preparations

Looking ahead to the Kumbh Mela 2027, CM Dhami approved ₹5.46 crore for crowd-management and safety infrastructure — specifically balli barikeding, chakravyuh barrier (crowd-control barricading systems) and temporary fire-watch towers. A further ₹6.85 crore was cleared for the construction and operation of eight temporary rain shelters (rain baseras) for pilgrims.

State governments have historically begun Kumbh infrastructure works roughly 18 months before the event to allow for tendering and construction timelines. The combined Kumbh outlay in this tranche stands at ₹12.31 crore.

Temple Restoration and Religious Infrastructure

Three separate religious-site approvals were included in the order. In Almora district's Dwarahat assembly constituency, ₹124.73 lakh was sanctioned for completing pending restoration work at Sukeshwar Mahadev Temple, Gram Sabha Sakuni, with a first instalment of ₹74.83 lakh released. For Seraghat in Almora assembly constituency, ₹72.83 lakh was approved for constructing a dharamshala (pilgrim rest house) at Maa Mangala Bhagwati Mata Temple, with ₹43.69 lakh as the first instalment.

In Pithoragarh assembly constituency's Munaakot development block, ₹22.00 lakh was sanctioned for beautification, boundary wall construction, and a dharamshala at Buddheshwar Temple, Gram Panchayat Bhaudi. In Udham Singh Nagar district's Kichha constituency, ₹25.00 lakh was approved for the beautification of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Park and pond in village Daruu.

Ex-Servicemen Scholarships and Vibrant Village Outreach

CM Dhami allocated ₹36.84 lakh from the Kargil Shaheed Pariwar Manya Mukhyamantri Sahayata Kosh (Kargil Martyrs' Family Chief Minister's Relief Fund) for scholarships to children of Uttarakhand's former servicemen currently pursuing engineering, medical, or PhD programmes. This continues an annual practice of scholarship disbursements from the dedicated fund that has been in place since the early 2000s.

In a governance initiative targeting remote areas, the CM approved the rollout of Thana Diwas (police outreach days) and Raat ki Chaupal (night community meetings) programmes in Vibrant Villages across Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. The programme will address law-and-order concerns, document verification, character certificates, cyber-awareness, and other police-related grievances through direct dialogue with villagers. The Vibrant Village Programme, launched by the Government of India in 2023, targets holistic development of border villages in Himalayan states, and this security-outreach layer adds a policing dimension to the scheme.

Together, the announcements illustrate the state government's approach of bundling infrastructure, welfare, religious heritage, and administrative-reach decisions into consolidated CMO orders — a pattern designed to signal broad-based governance across Uttarakhand's diverse terrain.