Gandhinagar, August 8: The Gujarat government, led by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has announced a significant increase in development grants for districts hosting state-level Republic Day, Independence Day, and Gujarat State Foundation Day celebrations. The maximum allocation has been raised from ₹7.5 crore to ₹15 crore under the revised provisions approved by the state.
According to a proposal released by the General Administration Department (GAD) on August 6, selected districts will now receive enhanced funding for development projects in rural, urban, and municipal areas associated with these state-level events. The revised policy aims to promote infrastructure and civic development alongside the organization of official state ceremonies.
The tradition of hosting major state-level national celebrations outside the capital began in 2003 under then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The first event was the Independence Day celebration held in Patan on August 15, 2003.
This initiative seeks to decentralize official national ceremonies across various parts of Gujarat, ensuring that host districts benefit from related development projects.
Under the new provisions, the District Development Officer of the host district will receive ₹5 crore for rural development, an increase from the previous allocation of ₹2.5 crore. Municipalities in the host district will also receive ₹5 crore for urban development through the District Collector, up from ₹2.5 crore.
For events held within municipal limits, the Municipal Commissioner will be entitled to development grants of up to ₹5 crore. Consequently, districts with municipalities can receive a total development grant of ₹15 crore, reflecting a 100% increase across all three categories.
Districts without municipalities will receive a maximum of ₹10 crore, including ₹5 crore for rural development and ₹5 crore for municipal areas. The revised funding will apply to upcoming state-level celebrations.
The Independence Day celebration on August 15 will take place in Amreli. Since this district lacks a municipality, it will receive ₹5 crore for rural development and ₹5 crore for urban areas, totaling a development grant of ₹10 crore.
The state government emphasized that the revised allocation continues the policy of linking state-level national celebrations to development projects in host districts. This tradition has been ongoing since the initiative to move these ceremonies from the state capital to various districts began over two decades ago.
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