Under the Smart Cities initiative and inspired by PM Narendra Modi, Gujarat ranks among the country’s leading states in the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain programme: Chief Minister

Today, the entire country is progressing along the path of development initiated by Shri Narendra Modi from Gujarat, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Harsh Sanghavi.

Let us make it a priority to ensure that every development work is completed on time and with high quality: Urban Development- Minister Shri Kanubhai Desai.

Gandhinagar, December 2025: Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel stated that under the Smart Cities initiative, Gujarat ranks among the leading states in the country in the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain programme inspired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

In this context, he said that to tackle the challenges of climate change, towns and cities across the state have taken the lead in green spaces, green growth, green mobility, as well as solid waste management and cleanliness surveys. Furthermore, to accelerate the circular economy, focused attention has been given to the four “R”s—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover.

He said that at a time when urbanisation was seen as a challenge in the country, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, launched the Urban Development Year in 2005 and laid a strong foundation for basic infrastructure to develop an urban development model aligned with the state’s heritage.

CM stated that with visionary leadership, a strong commitment to development, and adequate financial resources, Gujarat has set the best example of how swiftly urban development can be achieved under the guidance of Shri Narendra Modi, beginning with the Urban Development Year.

He said that following two decades of success since the Urban Development Year 2005, modern urban development has undergone a major transformation. To further accelerate this progress, the state government has designated 2025 as the Urban Development Year, aiming to develop cities that are all-inclusive and comprehensive.

Chief Minister distributed cheques totaling ₹2,800 crore to the state’s municipal corporations and municipalities for various holistic developmental projects on the occasion of Urban Development Year 2025, at an event held in Ahmedabad.

As part of this cheque distribution, Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Shri Harsh Sanghavi, Urban Development Minister Shri Kanubhai Desai, and Minister of State Smt. Darshna Vaghela allocated ₹2,132 crore to 8 municipal corporations of the state, and ₹360 crore for infrastructure development to 9 newly formed municipal corporations at ₹40 crore each. Additionally, ₹308 crore was provided to 152 municipalities, amounting to ₹2,800 crore for developmental works.

While highlighting the role of government financial management in ensuring that municipalities do not face any shortage of funds for planning development works, the Chief Minister stated that municipalities must now strengthen their capacity to optimally utilise funds for people-centric development projects.

He further emphasized that while quality and cleanliness should be prioritized in development works, municipalities and municipal corporations have the responsibility to take additional initiatives, as cleanliness has now become a natural habit for everyone.

He urged that to build on the legacy of six of our cities achieving significant progress and national recognition in the Swachh Survekshan, all cities should lead in solid waste management, ensure 100 percent ward-wise waste segregation, and expand the use of green, clean solar energy to reduce electricity costs in municipalities.

Stating that the roadmap for building a Viksit Gujarat for a Viksit Bharat@2047 has been prepared under the resolve of “Earning Well and Living Well,” the Chief Minister said that even before India becomes fully developed in 2047, there is an opportunity to transform our cities into some of the best-equipped cities in the country by the time Gujarat celebrates its 75th year of formation in 2035.

He also urged municipal corporations and municipalities to expand citizen-centric e-services and mobile governance, and to encourage the use of UPI for tax collection as well as the payment of electricity and other utility bills across all cities.

On this occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Harsh Sanghavi expressed his gratitude to Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel for organising the programme of distributing cheques from a single platform to municipal corporations and municipalities across the state for urban development. He added that the Chief Minister is continuously working to address the problems and challenges faced by citizens.

He stated that the Chief Minister has consistently worked to resolve issues in the revenue and urban development sectors and has successfully implemented numerous initiatives for public welfare. As a result, many cities have today gained national recognition for their excellence in cleanliness.

Deputy Chief Minister added that three decades ago, citizens had to endure constant hardships due to inadequate infrastructure. However, after Shri Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister, Gujarat’s cities and districts advanced rapidly on the path of development, and today the entire country is witnessing this accelerated progress. 

Speaking about the ongoing development of towns with high-quality infrastructure, he noted that nine municipalities in the state have now been upgraded to municipal corporations. Citing Dholera and GIFT City as examples, he highlighted the state government’s commitment to smart city development and urged all present to work together to achieve excellence in cleanliness, other key sectors, and citizen services.

Urban Development Minister Shri Kanubhai Desai stated that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, during his tenure as Chief Minister, implemented numerous initiatives and schemes for Gujarat’s development. Alongside programmes such as the Jyotigram Yojana, Shala Praveshotsav, and Vibrant Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi also established a dedicated budget for tribal development and laid the foundation for the Mukhyamantri Swarnim Yojana in 2005.

Continuing in the same direction, Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel has raised the budget of the Urban Development Department from ₹22,000 crore to ₹30,000 crore. He stated that the department is consistently engaged in constructing urban development projects, including roads, sanitation, drainage, and stormwater systems, and stressed to all office-bearers of municipal corporations and municipalities the importance of completing every development project on time.

On this occasion, Minister of State for Urban Development Smt. Darshna Vaghela, while delivering the welcome address, stated that the state government remains fully committed to developing infrastructure facilities in areas under the state’s municipal corporations and municipalities.

She stated that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, during his tenure as Chief Minister, had consistently prioritized the holistic development of the state’s municipal corporations and municipalities. Continuing in the same spirit, under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, the state government has demonstrated its commitment to enhancing public welfare by steadily increasing the budget and support for development initiatives.

On this occasion, a film highlighting the holistic development of various urban areas across the state was also screened.

The event was attended by Deputy Chief Whip of the Legislative Assembly, Shri Jagdish Makwana, and Ahmedabad Mayor Smt. Pratibha Jain, local MLAs, Principal Secretary for Urban Development M. Thennarasan, Commissioner of Municipalities Smt. Remya Mohan, Additional Commissioner of the Municipal Finance Board, Smt. Veena Patel, as well as officials and office-bearers of municipal corporations and municipalities from across the state.

Source: Information Department, Gujarat