Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], February 25 (ANI): Uttarakhand has been sanctioned an incentive amount of Rs 350 crore under Part IX of the Special Assistance Scheme for Capital Investment (SASCI), titled "Incentives to States for Efficiency in Financial Management."

According to an official statement, on this significant achievement, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.

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The Chief Minister said, "This approval reflects the state government's strong financial management practices, transparency, and fiscal discipline." As per the statement, CM Dhami noted that Uttarakhand has made notable progress in increasing tax collection, controlling expenditure, strengthening digital payment systems, and improving budget management.

He also highlighted that the state had earlier received incentive funds from the central government for implementing transparent policies in the mining sector, introducing e-tendering and online monitoring systems, and carrying out reforms in the transport department. This demonstrates that Uttarakhand is consistently adopting a reform-based governance model and building a strong national identity.

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The Chief Minister stated that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttarakhand is setting new benchmarks in good governance, transparency, and development. He added that such timely support from the central government serves as a source of motivation for the state and will accelerate its development projects.

Expressing gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Government of India, he said that the state government remains committed to establishing Uttarakhand among the country's leading states with the resolve of "Development along with Heritage."

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government has initiated a comprehensive overhaul of its building bylaws to align with updated earthquake safety standards, in view of the increasing seismic vulnerability of the state.

The state government, in a release, said that the move follows the Indian Standard ISO 1893-2025, which classifies the entire state under a high seismic zone. It said the government will amend existing construction regulations to make them more scientific, disaster-resilient and in tune with modern engineering practices.

Currently, Uttarakhand's building by-laws are based on the older Bureau of Indian Standards framework ISO 1893-2002. On the directions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan has constituted a 14-member high-level committee to review and revise the existing by-laws.

The committee will be chaired by R Pradeep Kumar, Director of CSIR-CBRI Roorkee, with Shantanu Sarkar, Director of ULMMC Dehradun, serving as convenor. The panel comprises representatives from CBRI Roorkee, the Bureau of Indian Standards, IIT Roorkee, BRIDCUL, the Public Works Department, the Irrigation Department, the Town and Country Planning Department, development authorities and geological experts.

Architects and engineers will also be consulted during the review process. Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan said that given Uttarakhand's fragile Himalayan terrain and growing seismic sensitivity, revising construction rules has become essential. He stated that the government aims to make building by-laws more effective, practical and capable of reducing disaster risk across both urban and rural areas. (ANI)

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