I&FC dept seeks Rs 33 cr more to develop ghats for Chhath Puja in Delhi

In the Revised Estimates, the department has submitted a list of 111 projects it intends to take up to develop ghats for Chhath Puja. Of these, 21 works have been completed and one is in progress. “As many as 89 works are yet to be started.

To start these projects, the department has sought an estimated expenditure of Rs 33.03 crore,” said a senior government official.

The Planning department, meanwhile, has suggested a Rs 25-crore budget for the development of Chhath Puja ghats in the Revised Estimates, said officials.

The internal document shows that in the 2024-25 financial year, while the previous AAP government had allocated Rs 20 crore in the Budget Estimates to develop Chhath Puja ghats, Rs 16 crore was allocated in the Revised Estimates. Of the total amount, the department spent Rs 15.2 crore up to March 2025.

Chhath Puja has been an important festival for Delhi, especially with over 30% of the city’s total population comprising Purvanchalis coming from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which is scheduled to go to polls next month.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday announced that October 27 will be a government holiday on the occasion of Chhath festival, said a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). She explained that the holiday is being observed on Monday because the third day of this four-day festival is the most important one.

“On this day, devotees offer prayers to the setting Sun at riversides or ponds. Preparations begin early in the morning, with families performing various rituals. Considering this, the government has declared October 27 a public holiday,” said the statement.

On Friday, the CM inaugurated a newly constructed Chhath Ghat in Laxmi Nagar. She highlighted that the ghat not only reflects the faith of the Purvanchal community but also stands as a symbol of Delhi’s cultural unity and religious harmony. She also inspected a Chhath ghat in Dwarka’s Sector 23 B.

Noting that Delhi government’s preparations for ‘Chhath Mahaparv’ have now entered its final stage, Gupta said around 1,500 Chhath ghats are being prepared across Delhi, of which 17 model ghats are being constructed along the Yamuna riverbanks. The government has announced that the festival will be celebrated on both banks of the Yamuna this year.

Maintaining that for the last eight months, Yamuna is being cleaned at war-footing, Gupta said, “The government is committed to making the Yamuna clean and free-flowing, a continuous process that will remain in place until the river is fully restored… The result of these efforts is now emerging. The Yamuna cleaning campaign is being supported by the Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments, along with the Union government…”