Where garbage dumps and overgrown thickets once marked the edges of Uttarakhand's towns, landscaped community parks are taking their place — and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made that transformation the centrepiece of a sweeping urban development event in Rishikesh on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, coinciding with the state's silver jubilee statehood day.

At a ceremony held in Chandreshwar Nagar, Rishikesh, the Chief Minister's Office of Uttarakhand announced that Dhami inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for a cluster of urban projects, dedicating Devbhoomi Rajat Jayanti Parks in nine urban local bodies spread across Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Uttarkashi districts to the public. He also launched and laid the groundwork for 7 development schemes worth over Rs 36 crore in Dehradun district alone.

Turning Waste Grounds Into Community Spaces

The Devbhoomi Rajat Jayanti Parks were conceived as a direct expression of a pledge the state government took at the start of the silver jubilee year: that the 25th anniversary of Uttarakhand's formation on 9 November 2000 would be remembered not through ceremonies alone, but through visible development on the ground. Dhami said the parks would offer children spaces to play, senior citizens walking paths, women shaded seating areas, and young people dedicated zones for yoga and exercise.

Each park will also carry a cultural imprint — reflecting Uttarakhand's folk traditions, local flora, and hill heritage. The CM called on urban local bodies to ensure maintenance through community participation rather than leaving upkeep solely to government machinery.

Eight Waste-Collection Vehicles Flagged Off

Dhami also flagged off 8 garbage-collection vehicles to reinforce sanitation across municipal areas — a symbolic and practical push alongside the park inaugurations. The state government has set an ambitious bar for its urban cleanliness record: all 108 nagar nikays in Uttarakhand are now open-defecation free, Rishikesh and Haridwar have received Water Plus certification, and over 90 per cent of urban waste is now being scientifically processed.

Critically, legacy waste has not been ignored. The disposal of old, accumulated waste has freed up approximately 109 acres of land for reuse across the state. In Rudrapur and Mussoorie, waste-to-biogas plants are already operational. On the Char Dham yatra routes, a digital deposit-refund mechanism has helped recover more than 60,000 kilograms of plastic — a figure that speaks to the scale of pilgrim footfall and the complexity of managing it cleanly.

Rs 1,375 Crore Sanitation Masterplan in Motion

Underpinning all of this is a comprehensive urban sanitation action plan worth approximately Rs 1,375 crore, covering 107 nagar nikays. The plan includes the installation of 27 sewage and faecal sludge treatment plants. The CM stressed that mechanisation of sanitation work is a parallel priority — so that sanitation workers, described as 'paryavaran mitron' (environment friends), no longer have to operate in unsafe or undignified conditions.

AMRUT Pipeline: 72,000 Homes Connected, 40,000 More in Queue

On water supply, Dhami reported near-completion of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Phase 1 — 148 of 151 sanctioned projects finished, delivering tap connections to over 72,000 homes. Under AMRUT 2.0, projects worth approximately Rs 650 crore are targeting 40,000 additional households and the revival of water bodies and ponds. A further Rs 874 crore is being invested in drinking water, sewerage, and urban infrastructure in selected cities including Rishikesh.

Housing, Health, and Digital Governance Push

The urban development picture extended to shelter and health. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), over 62,000 housing units have been sanctioned in the state, with more than 50,000 families already receiving pucca homes. 35 night shelters are operational for those without housing. Through 114 urban Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, over 3 lakh people are accessing healthcare close to their homes.

Digital governance got its own push: the 'Upyog' platform is being rolled out to let residents pay property tax, apply for trade licences, and complete mutation filings online — removing the need for repeated visits to municipal offices. 'Good governance,' Dhami said, 'means citizens do not have to circle government offices for small tasks.'

Twenty-five years on, Uttarakhand is making the pointed argument that the best tribute to its statehood movement is infrastructure that works — and parks where its people can breathe.