The Uttarakhand government has decided to establish a separate authority for the maintenance and management of Badrinath Dham after the completion of the ongoing master plan works. On the lines of the Kedarnath Authority, a Badrinath Authority will be constituted to take responsibility for conservation, upkeep and future development of the temple town.
At present, large-scale development works under the Badrinath master plan are underway and have been continuing for the last four years. After the completion of projects such as the Badrish Lake and Shesh Netra Lake beautification, the Public Works Department PIU had recommended handing over their maintenance to the Badrinath Nagar Panchayat. However, the local body declined, citing limited capacity and increasing workload. This raised concerns over who would manage and maintain the assets created under the master plan once the works are completed.
In view of this, the state government has initiated deliberations to form a dedicated Badrinath Authority. Similar to the Kedarnath model, the proposed authority will be responsible for the overall upkeep of Badarishpuri, monitoring of infrastructure created under the master plan, and undertaking construction or development work as per future requirements.
Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar said that a Badrinath Authority will be formed on the lines of Kedarnath. He added that once the master plan works are completed, the responsibility of protection and maintenance of Badrinath will be handed over to the authority, and work related to its formation is underway at the government level.
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So far, ₹150 crore has been spent on the Badrinath master plan out of the total sanctioned amount of ₹350 crore. Several major works including Shesh Netra and Badrish lakes, loop road and arrival plaza have been completed. Construction of the hospital building, river front, two bridges, residences for Teerth Purohits and beautification work within a 75-metre radius of the Badrinath temple is currently in progress.
