Kolkata, Jun 12 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday indicated that Durga Puja grants introduced during the Mamata Banerjee era may continue, but only for organisers that genuinely require financial assistance.
This signals a possible policy shift in one of the most politically watched grants in the state.
Addressing a press conference here, Adhikari said no final decision was taken on this year’s grants, but suggested that the BJP government was unlikely to follow the previous regime’s practice of extending uniform assistance to all puja committees regardless of their financial strength.
“Those who do not need government money need not be given grants. The government will stand by those who cannot organise Durga Puja without financial support,” he said.
The remarks offer the clearest indication yet of how the new government may approach a scheme that evolved over the years from a modest cultural grant into one of the state’s most high-profile and politically significant expenditures.
Introduced by the Mamata Banerjee-headed Trinamool Congress government in 2018 with an assistance of Rs 10,000 per committee, the grant increased steadily over the years, and reached Rs 1.10 lakh per puja committee last year. The state had also offered an 80 per cent rebate on electricity charges for Durga Puja organisers.
With nearly 44,000 committees receiving assistance last year, the scheme had grown into a major fiscal commitment as well as an important political outreach programme.
Critics had often questioned why some of Kolkata’s biggest pujas, with budgets running into several crores of rupees and substantial corporate sponsorship, should receive the same government assistance as small neighbourhood committees dependent on local contributions.
“Those who organise pujas on the basis of that financial assistance will receive support. Those who do not require it need not be given it,” he said.
The chief minister, however, stopped short of announcing any immediate policy change and stressed that the matter was yet to be formally discussed within the government.
“We have not started discussions on this issue yet. The Information and Cultural Affairs Department is with me. There is a minister of state. We will certainly discuss the matter,” he said.
The issue carries political significance in Bengal, where Durga Puja is not only the state’s biggest cultural festival but also a major arena of political engagement.
The grants were rolled out in 2018 as Bengal’s political discourse increasingly revolved around questions of identity, faith and cultural symbolism. While the BJP accused the TMC of minority appeasement, the Mamata Banerjee government sought to reinforce its association with Durga Puja through a state-backed programme.
Over time, the scheme became one of the state’s most politically debated subsidies. Critics saw it as an exercise in political patronage, while the TMC projected it as support for a festival that lies at the heart of Bengal’s cultural calendar and has since earned UNESCO recognition.
Soon after assuming office, the BJP government had discontinued religion-linked allowances introduced by the previous administration, prompting speculation over whether the Durga Puja grants would face a similar fate.
Adhikari’s remarks are likely to reassure smaller organisers worried about losing government support, while also signalling that affluent clubs may no longer automatically qualify for state assistance.
For now, the future of the grants remains undecided. But if Adhikari’s remarks are any indication, the coming puja season could mark a transition from universal assistance to a more selective model — one that distinguishes between Bengal’s marquee pujas and its thousands of neighbourhood celebrations. PTI PNT NN
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