The Union Ministry of Rural Development has cleared funding of ₹1,700 crore for the construction of 184 rural roads in Uttarakhand, adding 1,228 km to the hill state’s road network. The approval came during a meeting in New Delhi between Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union agriculture and rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the state government said in a statement.
The fresh allocation, under centrally sponsored rural connectivity schemes, is expected to support last-mile road links in remote districts, with implications for the movement of agricultural produce, access to markets and delivery of public services in difficult terrain. The projects will be implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), a key program for expanding rural road connectivity across states.
Alongside the new approvals, Dhami flagged the fiscal burden of recent extreme weather events on the state’s infrastructure. He informed the Union minister that 946 roads and 15 bridges had been severely damaged in the latest natural disaster, with reconstruction estimated at around ₹650 crore. Given Uttarakhand’s limited revenue base and high infrastructure costs in mountain regions, the chief minister requested special central assistance for speedy rebuilding.
The state has also reported damage to about 5,900 houses in the same period, for which Dhami sought financial support from the Centre to enable repairs and rehabilitation. These demands come against the backdrop of recurring weather-related disruptions in the Himalayan region and ongoing discussions on how to finance resilient infrastructure in these areas.
On the agriculture side, Dhami underlined that nearly 90% of Uttarakhand’s farmers are classified as small and marginal, and face recurring losses from crop depredation by wild animals. He welcomed the inclusion of crop-protection fencing works under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)–DPR scheme, but argued that a dedicated and predictable outlay was needed to scale such interventions.
The chief minister requested a separate allocation of ₹200 crore a year for the next five years – a total of ₹1,000 crore – to fund fencing and related measures aimed at protecting standing crops and improving productivity. According to the state government, Chouhan assured that advance funds would be released shortly so that fencing works could begin on a larger scale.
Dhami also sought early release of ₹98 crore already approved for 2025–26 under the PM-RKVY Sanitation Action Plan linked to the Namami Gange river-cleaning programme. The proposal is positioned as part of broader efforts to integrate agricultural schemes with environmental and sanitation initiatives in the Ganga basin.
The Union minister is learnt to have responded positively to the state’s proposals and indicated that Uttarakhand’s requirements would be examined on priority within existing schemes and budgetary space. For the state, the combination of new rural road projects, potential reconstruction support and additional agriculture funding would add to its ongoing infrastructure and rural development pipeline.
Member of Parliament Mahendra Bhatt, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi, PMGSY Chief Executive Officer Alok Kumar Pandey, Uttarakhand Resident Commissioner Ajay Mishra and other senior officials attended the meeting.
