By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The centre is investing in a big way on the infrastructure projects in Uttarakhand thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being big hearted towards the hill state.
On Tuesday when Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the 213 km long Delhi-Dehradun expressway with a cost of Rs 12000 crore, the funding for the big-ticket infrastructure projects in Uttarakhand remained in top focus.
At a public rally held in Dehradun for the inauguration of the expressway, Union Highways and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari counted many infrastructure projects where the centre, he said, is investing Rs 1.30 lakh crore in the hill state.
After Gadkari, when Modi began his speech, he corrected Gadkari saying the centre is actually spending Rs 2.25 lakh crore on infrastructure projects since 2014. The Prime Minister stated that, over the past decade, there has been unprecedented investment in infrastructure development not only across the country but also in Uttarakhand. He remarked, “Until 2014, the expenditure on infrastructure development in the whole country did not even amount to ₹2 lakh crore; today, this investment has surged to more than six times to more than ₹12 lakh crore. In Uttarakhand alone, infrastructure projects worth over ₹2.25 lakh crore are currently underway.”
Stating that Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor will provide a new impetus to the development of Uttarakhand, Gadkari said with the support of the Central Government, work is currently underway in Uttarakhand on projects worth approximately ₹1,30,000 crore.
Gadkari announced that a 51-kilometer, six-lane road stretch extending from the Saharanpur Bypass to Haridwar is also scheduled to be inaugurated in June. Similarly, the four-lane route from Paonta Sahib to Dehradun—constructed at a cost of ₹1,650 crore—is set to become operational by next month. The Phase-1 of the four-lane Greenfield Bypass in Haridwar, costing ₹1,600 crore, is expected to be completed by October 2026; this project will resolve the issue of traffic congestion for travelers heading to Haridwar and Rishikesh. Additionally, the Central Government has approved the Rishikesh Bypass project, estimated at a cost of ₹1100 crore, with work on the project slated to commence by August.
He further stated that a 21-kilometer-long, four-lane bypass in Rudrapur—costing ₹1,050 crore—is scheduled for completion in October of this year, while a 15-kilometer-long, four-lane bypass from Kashipur—costing ₹936 crore—is expected to be completed by December 2026. The 12-kilometer-long, four-lane elevated road connecting Dehradun, Jhajra, and Asharodi—at a cost of ₹716 crore—is set to be completed by April next year; similarly, the 20-kilometer-long, four-lane highway extending from Bhaniawala and Jolly Grant to Rishikesh—at a cost of ₹745 crore—is scheduled for completion by April 2028. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) is currently being prepared for a two-lane bypass in Srinagar, estimated at a cost of ₹800 crore.
He recalled that, previously, travelers undertaking the Mansarovar pilgrimage were required to travel through Nepal and China. However, a new route extending up to Lipulekh—via Tanakpur and Pithoragarh—is now being constructed at a cost of ₹5,200 crore. Of this 370-kilometer-long project, approximately 200 kilometers of work has already been completed. Similarly, regarding the 825-kilometer-long Char Dham Road Project—currently under construction at a cost of ₹12,000 crore—work on 640 kilometers of the stretch has been completed. Work on the stretch from Rudraprayag to Gaurikund, at a cost of ₹1,300 crore, is scheduled to commence by December 2026. Additionally, 142 km of the route leading to Gangotri Dham has been completed, while the remaining 100 km is being executed in a phased manner. At Yamunotri Dham, 46 km of the route from Dharasu to Yamunotri has been completed at a cost of ₹2,500 crore, and the remaining 30 km is set to be finished by April 2028. Gadkari stated that the Central Government is also working on the Sonprayag–Kedarnath and the Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib ropeways. Tunnels are being constructed at various locations across the state especially in the landslide zones, he said.