Gujarat to provide free residential plots to eligible rural families

The Gujarat government will provide free residential plots to eligible rural families, including in villages where gram panchayats do not have sufficient land available, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced at the state’s Independence Day celebrations in Amreli.

According to ETRealty, citing Times News Network, Patel said the government would allot free residential plots to deserving rural families even where village sites, government wasteland or other suitable government land are unavailable. In such cases, the state government will purchase private land for the purpose.

The announcement was part of a series of measures unveiled by the chief minister during the state-level Independence Day celebrations.

The government also announced a Rs 3,428-crore programme to upgrade and renovate 210 km of roads across 214 stretches. The programme is aimed at improving road safety and the quality of the state's road network, according to the report.

The rural housing announcement is significant because the government has said the scheme will not be limited by the availability of existing public land in villages. Where gram panchayats lack adequate village-site land or government wasteland, private land will be acquired for allotment to eligible families.

The report, however, does not provide details on the number of families expected to benefit, the size of individual plots, the eligibility criteria or the timeline for allotments. Those details will be important for understanding the scale and implementation of the initiative.

Patel also announced a 67% increase in the daily allowance for locally procured hot snacks provided to children aged three to six through anganwadis. The allowance will rise from Rs 5.10 to Rs 8.50 per child, with the government allocating an additional Rs 173 crore for the measure. It will cover more than 16.75 lakh anganwadi children, according to ETRealty.

In another measure, the annual family-income ceiling for overseas education loans available to students from unreserved categories has been raised from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

The announcements come as Gujarat positions infrastructure, green energy, semiconductors and artificial intelligence among its development priorities. Patel said the state would remain at the forefront of the Centre's Shakti ki Saptadhara vision for a developed India by 2047.

For rural households, the free-plot proposal is the most directly relevant of the measures announced. Its eventual impact will depend on how the government defines eligibility, identifies beneficiaries and acquires land in villages where suitable public land is unavailable.

Sources https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/gujarat-cm-announces-free-residential-plots-for-rural-families/133286507