India, Nov. 17 -- justify;">Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital and raised two administrative issues concerning the state - the proposed shifting of the Air Force Audit Branch from Dehradun and the future handling of maintenance responsibilities for a key mountain route used for the Nanda Devi Raj Jat pilgrimage.

According to officials familiar with the meeting, the chief minister requested that the Air Force Audit Branch, which has been functioning out of Dehradun "without interruption for many years," continue to operate from the city. Dhami is understood to have told the minister that Dehradun's strategic importance, given its proximity to both the China...