Rs 50,000 extra housing aid, 125 days of rural work among Gujarat's key welfare measures

Gandhinagar, March 14 (IANS) The Gujarat government has outlined a series of spending priorities for the 2026–27 financial year, focusing on rural housing, sanitation, rural employment, skill development and labour welfare, with ministers detailing allocations and programme expansions following the passage of the state budget.

Rural Development Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya said the Rural Development Department has been allocated Rs 5,479 crore for 2026–27.

The allocation represents an increase of Rs 779 crore compared with the previous year’s Rs 4,700 crore.

“The increase indicates that the government is committed to strengthening rural infrastructure facilities and livelihood resources,” Bavaliya said at a press conference.

A major share of the allocation has been made under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin), for which Rs 1,755 crore has been provided.

The minister said around 18,000 beneficiaries who have reached the roof-casting stage of house construction will receive additional assistance of Rs 50,000 each, for which Rs 90 crore has been allocated.

Under the scheme, tribal beneficiaries will receive Rs 2,72,820 in assistance while non-tribal beneficiaries will receive Rs 2,32,920.

The government has also allocated Rs 737.91 crore for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) during 2026–27.

As part of sanitation and wastewater management in villages, a new provision of Rs 50 crore has been made under a liquid waste management system to treat wastewater in rural areas.

End-drain treatment works are planned to be undertaken in 400 villages across the state.

For rural employment, Rs 1,500 crore has been earmarked under the 'VB G-RAM-G' scheme.

Bavaliya said the government plans to extend the guarantee of manual wage employment from 100 days to 125 days.

“There is also a provision to pay unemployment allowance if employment is not provided within the stipulated time,” he said.

The minister also highlighted provisions aimed at strengthening women’s livelihoods.

A total of Rs 48 crore has been allocated under the 'Lakhpati Didi' Empowerment Scheme for 2026–27.

According to Bavaliya, around 10,000 experienced 'Lakhpati Didis' will be supported each year to scale up their enterprises through assistance for production, packaging and value addition.

To provide a permanent sales platform for products made by women’s self-help groups, the government plans to establish Gram Haat marketplaces with an allocation of Rs 20 crore.

These will be developed on government land in municipal corporations, municipalities and tourist locations.

A further Rs 25 crore has been allocated to support production, marketing arrangements and online sales of 'Sakhi Mandal' products through e-commerce platforms.

Bavaliya also outlined the plans of the Labour, Skill Development and Employment Department for the same financial year, stating that Rs 2,902 crore has been allocated for programmes aimed at strengthening youth employability and labour welfare.

“This budget will play an important role in realising the Prime Minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 and Atmanirbhar Bharat through Viksit Gujarat,” he said.

Among the new initiatives, Rs 226 crore has been allocated for the Namo Gujarat Skill and Employment Mission to improve employability among young people.

Under the PM Setu scheme, Industrial Training Institutes will be upgraded through a hub-and-spoke model at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

An allocation of Rs 40 crore has also been made under the Namo Kaushalya Laxmi scheme to encourage female students studying in Industrial Training Institutes.

Assistance of Rs 15,000 will be provided for one-year courses and Rs 24,000 for two-year courses. Several labour welfare programmes are also set to expand.

The Shramik Annapurna scheme has been allocated Rs 200 crore and will see the addition of 300 new Annapurna booths where workers can obtain meals for Rs 5.

Under the Shramik Basera scheme, Rs 150 crore has been allocated to provide accommodation facilities for construction workers at affordable rates, while Rs 160 crore has been earmarked to add 50 new Dhanvantari health vans to provide healthcare services to labourers.

Construction workers are eligible for accident insurance assistance of Rs 3.5 lakh in cases of death or permanent disability.

The Agariya housing scheme has been allocated Rs 25 crore to provide houses equipped with solar panels and basic facilities for salt pan workers.

Bavaliya said assistance of Rs 3 lakh would be provided at the time of diagnosis to individuals suffering from silicosis, while Rs 4 lakh would be provided to families in the event of death caused by the disease.

Highlighting departmental performance, he said Gujarat currently has 559 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) with a combined training capacity of 2,18,516 seats, including 11,448 seats for women, while 15 dedicated ITIs are functioning for persons with disabilities.

Up to February in the current financial year, employment opportunities were provided to 2,60,878 candidates through 1,215 job fairs organised across the state, he said.

According to Bavaliya, a 2023–24 survey places India’s unemployment rate at 3.2 per cent, compared with 1.1 per cent in Gujarat.

He also said six drone pilot training centres approved by the DGCA have been sanctioned in the state.

Through Kaushalya – The Skill University, more than 600 drone pilots and over 1,200 trainees have been trained in drone manufacturing.

Under the Chief Minister Skill Development Initiative, 4,27,861 trainees were trained during 2025–26.

The number of registered factories in the state increased from 50,017 in March 2025 to 51,033 by February 2026, reflecting an addition of 1,016 factories in one year.

During 2025, officials inspected and certified 8,447 boilers and 339 economisers across the state, while 579 new boilers and 10 economisers were registered.

No accidents were reported in certified boilers during the year.

The government has also set a target of strengthening the state’s skill ecosystem and plans to train more than 60,000 people over the next four to five years.