Ahmedabad, February 18 – Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel stated on Wednesday that Gujarat’s budget advances the state’s continuous development journey, focusing on public welfare and without imposing any new tax burden on citizens.
The opposition criticized the budget, calling it disappointing for farmers, youth, and ordinary people, and election-oriented.
Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai presented a budget of ₹4.08 lakh crore for 2026-27, with a focus on tourism promotion, digital governance, regional growth, and the creation of sports infrastructure in preparation for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
CM Patel said that 65% of the budget expenditure is allocated for development spending. He stated that the budget is based on five pillars: social security, human resource development, infrastructure, economic growth, and green growth.
"Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat consistently remains at the forefront of progressive and continuous development, bringing each of his resolutions to fruition," he said. The budget was presented with "Adag Vishwas, Avirat Vikas" (unwavering faith and a firm commitment to continuous development), he added.
"This budget advances the state's continuous journey of development with steadfast faith in public welfare, without imposing any new tax burden," he said. He also noted that approximately 65% of the total outlay has been allocated for developmental purposes.
To promote tourism, the year 2026 was declared the "Gujarat Tourism Year" with a budget provision of ₹6,500 crore, the chief minister announced.
"As a result of the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, Ahmedabad has the opportunity to host the Commonwealth Games. Accordingly, more than ₹1,200 crore has been allocated in the budget for Olympic-ready Ahmedabad with sports infrastructure and modern transport services," he said.
For the creation of future-ready infrastructure in the state, next-generation connectivity will be developed through an investment of ₹800 crore in the Gujarat High-Speed Corridor. An allocation of ₹600 crore has been made for climate-resilient and new-technology roads, he said.
"This is the era of AI and deep technology. To keep Gujarat at the forefront of AI and digital governance initiatives, more than ₹850 crore has been allocated and a Data Fusion Centre and Centre of Excellence have been announced," he said.
With the objective of balanced economic development of various regions of the state through six Regional Economic Master Plans, the government has allocated nearly ₹7,000 crore, further strengthening the path towards Viksit Gujarat 2047, he added.
The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party criticized the budget, calling it disappointing for farmers, youth, and ordinary people and election-oriented.
"This budget shows the dream of a developed Gujarat by 2047 by just giving big numbers in the name of infrastructure, games and industry, but is contrary to the reality of 2026-27 and the expectations and demands of the people," Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda told reporters.
The people of Gujarat had hoped that the BJP's "double-engine government" would present a budget that would double their benefits, he said. "But the truth is, one engine fuels inflation, while the other fuels corruption. The impact of this is clearly visible in the budget," said the Congress leader.
While the Budget is for 2026-27, the projections are for 2047, he claimed. "There's nothing on the ground today, and there's talk of taking us to the moon. The Budget clearly contradicts the hopes and expectations of the common people of Gujarat," Chavda said.
He claimed that despite farmers being distressed, there is no mention of farm loan waiver in this Budget. "There was no increase in the allocation for social justice, and not a single word was uttered for an increase in pensions for the elderly, widows and differently abled persons," he said.
The Congress leader said there is no announcement that women will get relief from inflation, nor is there any increase in the minimum wage for workers in the state.
The Budget shows no direction to abolish the system of fixed salaries, contractual agreements, and outsourcing that are prevalent in Gujarat, he said. It has dashed the hopes of ASHA and Anganwadi workers, mid-day meal workers, and others demanding equal work and equal pay, Chavda claimed.
AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava said the BJP government presented an election-oriented budget.
“It has a provision of ₹5,425 crore for tribal development, but the allocation announced by the government every year is not being used,” said the tribal leader.
He said the government is silent on how the shortage of rooms and teachers in schools will be tackled. “Even after the announcement of ₹25,403 crore for the health department, there are no morgue vans, CT scan and X-ray machines in tribal areas,” he said.
A provision of ₹7,690 crore has been made for women and child development, but there is no clarity on how malnutrition will be addressed, he said. The government has not made any provision to remove it, said the AAP leader.
“Last year, more than ₹1,000 crore was allocated for the all-round development of tribals, but only ₹200 crore has been provisioned this year,” he said, adding that AAP’s demand for free electricity to farmers for 24 hours was also not met.