The Election Commission of India announced the dates for the Gujarat Assembly Elections on Wednesday afternoon. The state will go to polls in two phases on December 9 and 14. The counting will be held on December 18. The poll panel has been drawing criticism for delaying the announcement, which comes 13 days after the dates for the Himachal Pradesh polls were announced. The tenure of the 182-member Gujarat House ends in January 2018.
Projects announced or launched in Gujarat, October 12 to October 25
October 25
# Rs 95 crore, houses at concession to 800 employees of Rajkot Municipal Corporation
# Rs 5.94 crore, drinking water projects in Rajkot
October 24
# Rs 77.64 crore (this fiscal), GST waiver of 18% for 8.78 lakh farmers in micro-irrigation
# Rs 56.63 crore, 2.5 lakh new beneficiaries by raising annual income limits of SC/ST families
# Rs 56.14 crore, 50% hike in incentives of 40,000 ASHA workers; two free saris once a year
# Rs 29.85 crore, recreational zone at Dholi Dhaja dam, Surendranagar
# Rs 50 lakh, inn at Sant Rohidas Ashram at Sarsai village, Junagadh
ALSO: Allowances and benefits for contract workers in government
October 23
# Rs 4.52 crore, Trayambkeshawar Mahadev temple near Rajkot
# Rs 4.56 crore, 66kV substation at Jalapar village, Botad
ALSO: Political appointments to 18 boards/corporations; office buildings, residential quarters for police at several places
October 22, PM Modi
# Rs 615 crore, Ghogha-Dahej ro-ro ferry service project
# Rs 65 crore, cattle-feed plant of Sarvottam Dairy in Ghogha
# Rs 1,140 crore, a clutch of Vadodara municipal projects, including City Command and Control Centre, Jan Mahal, transport hub, solid waste management, water treatment plant, and many more
October 22, CM Rupani
# Rs 2,400 crore, Surat diamond bourse project at Khajod
ALSO: Regularisation of 15,000 houses in Bhavnagar city, pending for 40 years; flyover; promise to fill up Bor Talav with Narmada dam water; Rs 100 bonus over & above MSP for 3 varieties of cotton
October 19
# Rs 4.92 crore, Ramnath Mahadev temple in bed of Aji river in Rajkot
October 17
# Rs 13 crore, Ambardi Safari Park near Dhari in Amreli
October 18
WITHDRAWN: Criminal cases against 22 farmers of Sanand region and against Patidar leader Lalji Patel and 68 others in Mehsana
October 17
# Rs 10,400 crore: MoUs with three companies promising 21,300 jobs
October 16
# Rs 700 crore, interest-free loan to farmers, to benefit 25 lakh families
# Rs 931.93 cr: Civic projects for Ahmedabad and periphery, inaugurated and announced by CM Rupani — bridges, railway overbridges underground water tanks, water distribution stations, water and drainage pipeline, community health centres, storm water pipeline and streetlights
October 15
# Rs 77.94 crore, handed to 6,310 beneficiaries at a Garib Kalyan Mela in Bhavnagar
# Rs 789.29 crore, projects in Surat
# Rs 2.49 crore, two basketball courts and a hockey turf in Rajkot
# Rs 3.62 crore, projects for Rajkot racecourse, cricket ground, roads
# Rs 2.86 crore, distributed among 1,525 beneficiaries at a Garib Kalyan Mela in Rajkot
ALSO: Jobs to direct descendants of safai karmacharis in case of death of the employee
October 13
# Rs 69.92 crore, for 50,596 beneficiaries at Garib Kalyan Mela in Bhavnagar
October 12
# Rs 11.87 crore, Diwali bonus of Rs 3,500 to 35,000 class-IV employees
# Rs 1.66 crore, Shahri Garib Kalyan Mela in Ahmedabad, 4,103 beneficiaries get tangible and intangible items under Manav Garima Yojana
# Rs 8 crore, Per year, toll waiver on SP Ring Road in Ahmedabad
ALSO: Withdrawal of 136 cases against Patidar agitators; common General Development Control Regulations in major cities and towns for real-estate industry; 1& hike in DA for 8.2 lakh government employees with retrospective effect from July 1; HRA of 21 months for 21,000 GSRTC employees