West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari interacts with West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) Siddh Nath Gupta during a coordination and security review meeting for the upcoming Durga Puja festival, in Kolkata, on September 7, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday (September 7, 2026) urged big budget community Durga Pujas to voluntarily forgo financial aid from the State government, while announcing a grant of ₹1 lakh for Durga Puja committees that applied for the aid.
“I do not want to misuse the powers of the Chief Minister. I would request those who are capable [of organising pujas without government assistance] not to take the financial aid. Those who cannot organise the puja without this money will be given ₹1 lakh by the government,” Mr. Adhikari said.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) government began giving cash to community Durga Pujas in 2018, and former CM Mamata Banerjee increased the cash entitlement every year till it reached ₹1.10 lakh in 2025. The BJP leadership, including Mr. Adhikari, had criticised the move, which costs the State exchequer almost ₹500 crore annually.
“What the former Chief Minister was doing was not right. It started at ₹25,000 and reached ₹1.10 lakh. It did not help in elections. Many have become dependent on it,” the CM said.
Mr. Adhikari, who has claimed that the role of the State is not to provide dole, has come up with eligibility criteria for availing the benefits of several Central government schemes.
Speaking at a gathering where representatives of different Durga Pujas were present, the Chief Minister also announced a series of restrictions and arrangements for the festival, including now allowing cranes at the ghats to extricate the idols after immersion, and not allowing puja processions to block national highways.
No Durga Puja inauguration would be allowed before Mahalaya, marking the beginning of the auspicious Devi Paksha period, and unlike the previous regime, the State government would not organise the Durga Puja carnival this year, the CM said.
A government-organised Durga Puja programme would be held at Eden Gardens on Mahalaya, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to attend the event. All immersion would have to be completed before Lakshmi puja, and no DJs (disc jockeys) would be allowed during the Durga Puja celebrations, Mr. Adhikari said. All liquor shops and bars in the State would remain closed on Ashtami, the eighth day of the festival.
The government had held discussions with the State electricity authorities and the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation to ensure the puja committees across the State, including those in Kolkata, would receive electricity free of charge during the festival, he said.
The government will also organise programmes in Digha and six other cities as part of the Durga Puja celebrations, the CM said.
Published – September 07, 2026 11:21 pm IST
