A new circuit house, sixteen development schemes, and a direct promise to every village in the block — Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami turned Champawat into a showcase of district-level governance on Sunday, 18 October 2026, inaugurating projects worth nearly ₹96 crore and announcing a clutch of fresh commitments that span drainage to digital libraries.

Circuit house, a silver-jubilee park, and 16 schemes in one visit

The day opened with a puja-archana (ritual consecration) at the newly constructed circuit house — a facility that doubles as administrative infrastructure and a symbol of the state's physical presence in this border Kumaon district. Union Minister of State Ajay Tamta joined Dhami on the dais, lending central government weight to what the Chief Minister framed as a long-haul mission. Alongside the circuit house, Dhami inaugurated the Devbhoomi Rajat Jayanti Park, built at a cost of ₹1.37 crore, where he paused to distribute chocolates to children playing inside — a small human detail that underscored the visit's public-outreach character.

The sixteen projects — a mix of inaugurations and foundation-stone layings — cover roads, drinking water, health and education infrastructure across the district. While the exact project list was not enumerated in the official post, the aggregate investment of ₹96 crore represents a significant single-day commitment to a district that Dhami described as destined to become an 'aadarsh janpad' — a model district.

A ₹66 crore drainage plan and underground power lines for Champawat town

One of the most consequential announcements of the day was a ₹66 crore drainage plan designed to permanently resolve Champawat town's chronic waterlogging problem — a hill-specific challenge that damages roads, disrupts commerce and poses health risks every monsoon season. The plan will be paired with the underground laying of electricity lines, eliminating the tangle of overhead cables that characterises many Kumaon townships and improving both aesthetics and supply reliability.

Dhami also flagged work on a bypass road, a multi-storey parking complex, and a shopping complex for the district headquarters. In Tanakpur — the plains gateway to Champawat — an Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) is under construction that will expand regional transport links. Crucially, roads along the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route are being widened and smoothed, connecting religious tourism directly to local economic opportunity.

₹10 lakh per Gram Sabha and a lawyers' e-library

Away from the big-ticket infrastructure, Dhami made two announcements aimed at the grassroots. Every Gram Sabha in Champawat development block will receive ₹10 lakh for locally chosen development works — from libraries and roads to anganwadi upgrades and livelihood projects. The discretion given to village bodies to decide spending priorities is a deliberate nod to decentralised governance.

At the District Bar Association oath-taking ceremony — where Dhami attended as chief guest — he announced construction of advocate chambers, a vehicle parking facility, and a modern e-library for lawyers. He also committed to building community halls in each of the district's nyaya panchayats (local justice councils), saying advocates are 'pillars of the justice system' and that the state is committed to simple, accessible and time-bound justice for ordinary citizens.

Planning for the next 25 to 50 years

The framing Dhami chose was deliberately generational. 'Development work is being done in a planned manner keeping in mind the needs and challenges of the next 25 to 50 years,' he said, positioning Champawat not as a district playing catch-up but as one being built ahead of its future. He held public consultations with an unusually wide cross-section — Matrishakti groups, anganwadi and ASHA workers, PRD jawans, ministerial cadre, Roadways employees, livestock farmers, state movement activists, ex-servicemen, cooperative representatives, and the Sapteshwar/Saptakoshi Parikrama proposal committee — before taking feedback from media representatives as well.

District Magistrate Manish Kumar and Superintendent of Police Rekha Yadav received the Chief Minister at the circuit house helipad, alongside a large gathering of BJP district office-bearers, elected representatives, and senior officials.

Champawat is small, remote, and strategically positioned on the Nepal border and the Kailash pilgrimage corridor. If the announced projects land on time, the district may well become the proof-of-concept the Dhami government is betting on.