CM seeks Rs 500 crore from Centre for Ardh Kumbh

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13

Chief Minister Harish Rawat has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in ensuring the release of Rs 500 crore for Ardh Kumbh.

He wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in this regard. Rawat said the Centre had been providing funds to Uttarakhand for Ardh Kumbh and Kumbh in Haridwar in the past but it was strange that it was yet to release funds for Ardh Kumbh this time.

He said the Centre had released funds for Ardh Kumbh in six other states but ignored Uttarakhand, despite the recommendation of Niti Ayog. “Due to lack of funds, we have been forced to transfer our funds for Ardh Kumbh,” the Chief Minister said in the letter. He also referred to the demand of Uttarakhand for green bonus from the Centre.

He said 70 per cent of Uttarakhand was under forest cover and 14 per cent of it falls under protected areas, which was also a hindrance in the state’s development activities.

He said the state through its greenery was contributing to the environment of the nation and it was important that the state should be provided with at least Rs 2,000 crore every year as green bonus.

The Chief Minister said there had been a drastic cut in funds sanctioned for the Centrally sponsored schemes. He also raised the issue of Central assistance for disbursement of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes post-High School scholarships.