Uttarakhand seeks Rs 5,000 crore grant for Maha Kumbh 2021

DEHRADUN: Chief minister TS Rawat met Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday and requested a one-time grant of Rs 5,000 crore to conduct Maha Kumbh 2021 on a grand scale.
During the meeting held in New Delhi, Rawat said that the availability of funds would facilitate timely completion of projects in the state before the event which is likely to see a footfall of over 15 crore devotees.Sitharaman said that necessary help would be provided to the state at the earliest.
Incidentally, Rs 700 crore was spent on Ardh Kumbh preparations in 2016, while the budget was around Rs 100 crore for the Maha Kumbh in 2010.
The CM also met road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and requested him to approve national highway status for 17 roads, construction of a 47-km ring road in Haridwar and a four lane bridge on the Ganga at Jagjitpur, apart from providing clearance to 19 additional projects worth Rs 454 crore. He also requested the Union minister to complete the widening of Muzaffarnagar-Haridwar stretch by next year.
Later, the chief minister met Jal Shakti minister GS Shekhawat and sought approval for projects worth Rs 802 crore under the Namami Gange scheme.
Rawat also requested Shekhawat to release Rs 63 crore as payment for the irrigation department