Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Nainital district on Sunday, 24 May 2026 and held a public grievance meeting at the Circuit House in Haldwani-Kathgodam, listening to complaints from residents and local elected representatives. He directed officials to resolve the issues on the spot and warned that negligence in public-interest work would invite accountability.

Context

Speaking at the meeting, CM Dhami stated that 'time-bound and satisfactory resolution of public grievances is the state government's highest priority,' and asked officials to work with sensitivity to provide relief to citizens. Complaints raised prominently included drinking water supply, rural road conditions, electricity supply, and irrigation-related issues.

The meeting was attended by Cabinet Minister Ram Singh Kaira, MLA Sarita Arya, Anil Kapoor Dabbu, Dinesh Arya, the District Magistrate, the Senior Superintendent of Police, and other departmental officials and local citizens.

Policy Backdrop

Since taking office in 2021, CM Dhami has made district-level grievance tours a regular feature of his governance model, using them to cut through bureaucratic layers and enforce direct accountability on basic service delivery. Uttarakhand has also been a participant in the central government's Jal Jeevan Mission since 2019, aimed at expanding piped drinking water access to rural households across the state.

The Kumaon region, of which Nainital district is a part, faces chronic seasonal stress — summer months bring acute shortages in water and power, while hilly terrain makes road maintenance a persistent challenge. These structural issues make on-ground administrative outreach particularly significant for residents.

Key Directives Issued

CM Dhami directed the Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam (state drinking water corporation) to arrange tankers as required ahead of the summer season and to urgently repair non-functional tubewells and handpumps. He instructed the Public Works Department (PWD) to prioritise making damaged connectivity roads pothole-free on priority.

The Electricity Department was asked to ensure uninterrupted supply in line with the prescribed roster. The Chief Minister made clear that any lapse in public-interest work would result in the accountability of the concerned official being fixed — a pointed signal to the district administration.

Stakeholders and Impact

The directives directly affect rural households and hill-district residents in Nainital district who depend on state infrastructure for water, power, and road access. For communities in hilly terrain, a single damaged road or a broken handpump can mean disproportionate hardship, making the CM's on-the-spot orders consequential for daily life.

Local elected representatives present at the meeting — including MLA Sarita Arya — had the opportunity to raise constituency-specific concerns directly before the Chief Minister and senior officials, compressing the usual cycle of petition and response.

What's Next

The immediate test will be whether the Peyjal Nigam deploys tankers and completes pump repairs before peak summer demand, and whether PWD delivers pothole-free roads on the timeline implied by the CM's directive. Similar grievance camps may be extended to other districts in the Kumaon division as the summer season progresses. The pattern of district tours also sets a visible benchmark: if service gaps persist after a CM visit, departmental accountability becomes harder to deflect.