Assam approves grant for Durga Puja pandals

Assam Cabinet approves ₹10,000 grant-in-aid for 6,953 Durga Puja pandals to discourage 'Chanda' (donation) culture. CM Sarma appeals to committees not to raise funds forcibly.

GUWAHATI

The Assam Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on October 17 approved a grant-in-aid of ₹10,000 for each of 6,953 Durga Puja pandals across the State.

This is seen as a step to dissuade puja committees from forcing people to donate for the festivities.

“The State government is against the ‘Chanda’ (donation) culture. I appeal to the Durga Puja committees not to raise funds from the public forcibly,” Mr. Sarma said a day ago.

The grant for Durga Puja pandals is reminiscent of the ₹2.5 lakhs annual grant the BJP-led government in Assam had come up with for namghars or neighbourhood prayer halls and ₹10 lakhs each for 1,008 religious places of historical importance, including temples, mosques, and churches, ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections.

The largesse for the puja pandals came less than a month after the Trinamool Congress slammed the State government for imposing ₹300 per committee for organising Durga Puja and ₹100 per immersion of the idol.