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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday directed officials to expedite the relocation of families to facilitate the commencement of work on the Song Dam drinking water project in Dehradun.
During a meeting at the Secretariat, CM Dhami emphasized the importance of securing land for the project with the consent of the affected families who are to be relocated. "All basic facilities must be provided to the families being shifted," he said, adding that adding the construction of community buildings, temples, and roads if required, should be undertaken only after consulting the locals. The Chief Minister also instructed officials to accelerate progress on the Jamrani Dam project. As per officials, the Song Dam drinking water project aims to supply 150 million litres per day (MLD) of drinking water to around 11 lakh residents of Dehradun city and improve groundwater levels. The project will significantly reduce dependence on tube wells for the drinking water supply. Another major benefit of the project is flood control, which will protect around 15,000 residents in 10 villages of Dehradun district from annual floods in the Saung River, said officials. Additionally, a lake of about 3.50 km in length will be created by the construction of the project, which will promote tourism in the area. The environment will also benefit from the construction of the lake, they added. Last year, CM Dhami requested Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to allocate Rs 1774 crore for the Song Dam drinking water project as special assistance from the Centre. CM Dhami had apprised Finance Minister Sitharaman that all necessary technical, forest land transfer stage-1 and other necessary approvals related to the project had been obtained from the concerned departments/ministries. "For the rehabilitation and resettlement of the families affected by the project, the expenditure of Rs 247 crore will be borne by the state government," he had said. (ANI)
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