Gujarat CM reviews state departments' budget expenditure, calls for strengthened planning and quality assurance

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], December 18 (ANI): Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday held a high-level review meeting to assess the expenditure of all State Government departments against the 2025-26 budget up to November 2025.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister expressed satisfaction over the increase in departmental spending compared to the previous year and directed all departments to strengthen planning to ensure timely completion of prescribed procedures. He also emphasised the need for quality monitoring in infrastructure projects and urged departments to implement quality assurance mechanisms similar to the Urban Development Department's Quality Cell.
Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai, Minister of State for Transport and Forest-Environment Pravin Mali, Principal Advisor Dr Hasmukh Adhia, Chief Secretary M. K. Das, Advisor S. S. Rathore, and senior secretaries of all departments attended the meeting.
The Chief Minister instructed senior officials to expedite project completion from the planning stage and ensure quality-focused and timely expenditure across all departments.
Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said 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 Narendra Modi.
Chief Minister distributed cheques totalling Rs 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.
CM Patel 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, according to an official statement by the Chief Minister's Office.
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 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," the statement read.
As part of this cheque distribution, CM Patel, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, Urban Development Minister Kanubhai Desai, and Minister of State Darshna Vaghela, allocated Rs 2,132 crore to 8 municipal corporations of the state, and Rs 360 crore for infrastructure development to 9 newly formed municipal corporations at Rs 40 crore each.
He further emphasised that while quality and cleanliness should be prioritised in development works."Municipalities and municipal corporations have the responsibility to take additional initiatives, as cleanliness has now become a natural habit for everyone," the Chief Minister said. (ANI)