Elections across country are fought on development plank now: Gujarat CM

Patel was speaking after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of development projects of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) here.

Earlier in the day, the CM inaugurated India’s first elevated market yard  constructed by the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Surat. The CM also attended the 116th meeting of the executive committee of the All India Council of Mayors in Surat.

“The state government keeps an eye on the status of development projects carried out across the state. For instance, we have learnt that the outer ring road of Surat City has not been completed though its first phase was over. We coordinated and shared funds with the SUDA and SMC and got it finished,” the CM said.

Patel launched  a chatbot for the online payments made by the SMC. The CM also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of development projects worth Rs 600 crore in Surat.

“We are putting all possible efforts to increase the ease of living in Gujarat. Earlier, people would make fun of the ‘Digital India’ campaign. Now, even hawkers are receiving payments digitally. One can see how it has penetrated all sections of society,” he said.

“When Gujarat got separated from Maharashtra, there were talks about how the development in the new state would take place, as it has a large sea coast, hilly terrain and desert. The geographical condition was not suitable. Today, we have Asia’s biggest (37 gigawatt) solar power project in Kutch, and even the 1600 kilometres coastal area will become the country’s ‘Future Gateway,’” the CM said.

Praising Surat for achieving cleanest city tag  (First in Vayu Survekshan 2024 rankings and second Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 rankings),  the CM said maintaining this position will be a challenging task and urged people to cultivate the habit of maintaining cleanliness.

While addressing the Surat APMC event in the afternoon, Patel said, “We are developing the agro and food processing chain in Gujarat, and for that, we have also developed mango, vegetable, and other agriproduct zones across the state. Due to the food processing plant at APMC Surat, farmers are greatly benefited as their mangoes and chickoos are purchased and turned into pulp, which is exported to foreign countries such as Russia, Canada, the US, Japan and Korea”

“The state government has stood with farmers during unseasonal rainfall, which led to the crop loss, as a Rs 10,000 crores relief package was announced for the affected farmers. We are also developing an AI-based system to help farmers and give them tips about crop damage and how they could get more yield,” he said.

Citing the call made by PM Modi, the CM urged farmers in the state to adopt natural farming.

“Farmers get short-term gain from farming using chemicals. On the other hand, natural farming helps farmers gain more profit, and it protects the environment and human health,” Patel pointed out.

Speaking at the Mayor summit, the CM said Narendra Modi  laid the foundation of the concept of modern urban development when he was the chief minister of the state.

“In 2005, Modi announced ‘Modern Urban Development year’ for the well-planned city development with basic infrastructure. We are celebrating 2025 as the urban development year. This year, we are trying to fulfill the vision of PM Modi on futuristic development of cities,” the CM said.

He said Gujarat is the first state in the country to implement the ‘CM Urban Development’ scheme. “The ease of living in the cities has increased due to the physical infrastructure, social infrastructure, and urban mobility. Under Ease of living, we have set up the Metropolitan Transport Authority in Gujarat,” Patel said.