Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat sought `4,000 crore from the Centre for the reconstruction and redevelopment of the disaster- affected areas of the State. The Government has been trying to rehabilitate and redevelop the State after June disaster-2013. He has written a letter to the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely on Wednesday.
Along with this, CM has also demanded prompt release of the approved `350 crore under SPA and `100 crore under the head of untied fund. He has also appealed for an increase in the period for relaxation of taxes in several departments up to three years, relaxation of interest on loans for two financial years i.e. 2013-14 and 2014-15 for those who incurred losses in business, hotels, tourism, agricultural lands and crops. This aside, he asked for approval of `one thousand crore for Ardh Kumbh preparations. The redevelopment and reconstruction work is in progress in the state with the assistance of the Union Government. The Government has identified projects under SPA and prepared detailed project reports.
The Cabinet Committee of the Central Government had given an approval for `100 crore under untied fund as special assistance. A project report related to this has been presented to the Centre.
The CM requested immediate release of `350 crore under SPA of and `100 crore under untied fund. The CM Rawat in his letter has stated that his Government is trying to provide employment opportunities for the people of the disaster- affected regions. For this, generous assistance from the Centre is an imperative. The successful Chaar Dhaam Yatra this season has inspired confidence in the people. However, re- establishing employment avenues in the disaster- affected regions will take four to five years. Thus, a request has been made to exempt them from paying interests for two years and it is hoped that they will be in a position to pay principal amount after two financial years.
Mentioning Ardh kumbha slated in 2016, the CM stated that over five crore devotees are expected to participate. The fair venue is spread over a large area which covers Hardwar, Dehradun, Tehri and Pauri districts. Due to the disaster in 2013, most of the infrastructure meant for the fair was destroyed. Thus, these facilities will have to be redeveloped for which a fund of `1000 crore will have to be released.