New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Haldwani in Uttarakhand on Thursday to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17,500 crore, the PMO said.
The foundation stone will be laid for 17 projects worth over Rs 14,100 crore, and they cover sectors ranging from cross irrigation, road, housing, health infrastructure, industry, sanitation to drinking water supply among others.
Modi will inaugurate six projects, including multiple road widening exercises, a hydropower facility in Pithoragarh and those to improve the sewerage network in Nainital. The cumulative cost of the projects being inaugurated is over Rs 3,400 crore, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.
He is also likely to address people during the programme in the poll-bound state.
The prime minister will lay the foundation stone of the Lakhwar multi-purpose project to be built at the cost of about Rs 5,750 crore. This project was first conceived in 1976 and was stuck before being revived by Modi's vision to prioritise long-pending projects, it said.
This project of national importance, will enable irrigation of about 34,000 hectares of additional land, produce 300 MW hydropower and supply drinking water to Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In line with his vision to improve connectivity at far-flung places of the country, inauguration and foundation stone laying of multiple road sector projects worth about Rs 8,700 crore would be done, the PMO added.
These road projects will improve the connectivity of the Garhwal, Kumaon and Terai regions and also the connectivity between Uttarakhand and Nepal. Improved connectivity will also benefit industrial areas in Rudrapur and Lalkuan besides improving the accessibility of Jim Corbett National Park.
Further, foundation stones of multiple road projects all across the state under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna would also be laid by Modi, the PMO said.
The projects include laying 133 rural roads with a total length of 1,157 km at a cost of more than Rs 625 crore and the construction of 151 bridges at a cost of about Rs 450 crores.
The road widening projects will not only improve the connectivity of the remote areas but will also give a fillip to tourism, industrial and commercial activities in the region, the PMO said.
The strategic Tanakpur-Pithoragarh road will now have all-weather connectivity that will facilitate the unhindered movement of the army to border areas and improved connectivity for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
As part of the exercise to expand the medical infrastructure of the state and provide world-class medical facilities in different parts of the country, Modi will lay the foundation stone of AIIMS Rishikesh satellite centre in Udham Singh Nagar district and Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College at Pithoragarh.
These two hospitals are being built at a cost of about Rs 500 crores and Rs 450 crore respectively. The improved medical infrastructure will not only help the Kumaon and Terai regions but also the bordering areas of Uttar Pradesh.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone for the construction of about 2,400 homes for the economically weaker section in the cities of Sitarganj and Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district. These homes will be built at a cumulative cost of more than Rs 170 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban), the PMO said.
To improve tap water supply in the rural areas of the state, he will lay the foundation stone of 73 water supply schemes across 13 districts under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
The schemes will cumulatively cost around Rs 1,250 crore and will benefit more than 1.3 lakh rural households of the state, it said.
Further, to ensure a regular supply of quality water in the urban areas of Haridwar and Nainital, the prime minister will also lay the foundation stone of water supply schemes for these two cities.
Foundation stones of a 41 acre Aroma Park at Kashipur and a 40-acre Plastic Industrial Park at Sitarganj will also be laid.
The Aroma Park will make use of Uttarakhand's immense potential for floriculture growth and the Plastic Industrial Park will be a step to establish the state's industrial prowess and create employment opportunities for the people.
Modi will also inaugurate two sewage treatment plants of 7 MLD and 1.5 MLD capacity constructed at the cost of about 50 crores at Ramnagar, Nainital, and lay foundation stones for the construction of nine sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Udham Singh Nagar, to be built at the cost of about 200 crores, and a 78 crore project for up-gradation of sewerage system in Nainital, the PMO said.
He will also inaugurate the 5 MW capacity Suringad-II run of the river hydroelectric project built by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam (UJVN) Limited at Munsyari in Pithoragarh district, built at a cost of about Rs 50 crore.