4 min readAhmedabadFeb 20, 2026 04:30 AM IST
A CLASH broke out outside the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation building between Congress workers and police, ahead of the civic body’s general meeting on Thursday to approve the financial budget for the year 2026-27.
Heavy security was deployed at the Municipal Corporation building due to protests by the opposition Congress workers. Congress workers reached the GMC general meeting venue and protested against the budget, which led to a clash with police, security staff as well as the fire team after they prevented the workers from entering the building with the fire brigade using water cannons on the protesters.
The issues raised by Congress city president Shakti Patel included lack of basic facilities in the newly merged villages in the GMC limits. “The ruling BJP has conspired to keep us out of the general meeting. In the previous budget, there was a provision to plant 2.3 lakh trees under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign but no trees have been planted yet. The smart villages, which include the new villages merged into the corporation, are not being given any facilities like roads and during the monsoon sewers overflow,” Shakti Patel said.
The general body meeting of Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation under the chairmanship of Mayor Miraben Patel unanimously approved Rs 1,918.35-crore budget for the financial year 2026-27. The last budget before GMC elections this year was presented by the Chairman of the Standing Committee Gaurang Vyas. The aim of the budget was to provide modern facilities without imposing any new taxes on the citizens. The budget had a surplus of Rs 172.74 crore.
According to the Gandhinagar Mayor, the emphasis of the budget was on modern technology. ‘’This budget has been made keeping in mind the development of all and public welfare. Work will also be done in the field of sports keeping in mind the upcoming Commonwealth Games. This budget has been made by Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation keeping in mind all the citizens including women and the youth. This budget has also received general approval,’’ said Patel.
Presenting the budget proposals, Standing Committee Chairman Gaurang Vyas said that this budget had been prepared keeping security, health, convenience, income and technology in focus. “AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology will be widely used to make the city smart, under which integrated command and control centre will be converted into an AI Experience Center and modern facilities like AI-based surveillance and self-assessment drive will be started,” he said.
Further, he added that under PMAY 2.0, the municipality had resolved to construct more than 3,500 houses at a cost of approximately Rs 440 crore for the poor.
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“The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) model have been prioritized to make Gandhinagar self-reliant. Projects like modern Haat (Meena Bazaar), Open Air Theatre, Performing Arts Centre and Co-working Space will be implemented in the city. This plan will reduce the capital expenditure of the Municipal Corporation and citizens will get world-class facilities,” he added. Vyas clarified that for administrative transparency, a ‘Digital Grievance Interactive Panel’ will be implemented to resolve people’s complaints.
For the first time in Gandhinagar, roads are set to be built with ‘Green Milling Technology’, hoping to ensure that the level and sustainability of the roads would be maintained. Vyas also stressed on the importance of a new multi-specialty hospital of 50 to 100 beds which he said would provide high-quality treatment to the citizens in the city. He described the increase in financial assistance to children suffering from juvenile diabetes as an example of ‘sensitive governance’.
Keeping in mind the upcoming 2030 Commonwealth Games which will be hosted in Ahmedabad, the budget provided for the creation of sports complexes in Raysan and Kolavada and a cricket stadium in Rakhineja.
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