Kolkata: Around 75% of Durga Puja committees in Bengal — those with budgets below Rs 10 lakh — are likely to continue receiving government financial assistance, with chief minister Suvendu Adhikari indicating to puja organisers that the new BJP govt will not withdraw support from organisers who genuinely need it.Bengal has around 43,000 officially recognised Durga Pujas, including nearly 3,000 in Kolkata.The assurance came during a meeting between office-bearers of the Forum for Durgotsav, the umbrella body of Kolkata’s puja committees, and Adhikari at Nabanna earlier this week. Sports and youth welfare minister Indranil Khan was also present at the meeting.The indication has brought considerable relief to smaller puja organisers, who had been uncertain about the fate of the grant after the new govt announced that it would not extend financial assistance to every committee as the previous Trinamool Congress govt had done.“The chief minister has assured us that puja organisers with small budgets will continue to receive the aid. It has come as a huge relief for organisers who were under a lot of pressure,” said Anjan Ukil, secretary of Ballygunge Cultural Durga Puja, who attended the meeting along with Forum office-bearer Sandipan Banerjee of Behala Nutan Dal.“The CM has said that cops have already been asked to furnish the govt with a detailed report of all puja committees that have a budget of less than Rs 10 lakh based on which the government will plan the financial aid. He however, hasn’t mentioned the amount yet,” Ukil added.The Mamata Banerjee govt began providing grants to Durga Puja committees in 2018, initially offering Rs 10,000. The amount was increased over the years and stood at Rs 1.1 lakh in 2025. Until last year, all police-approved puja committees were eligible for the grant.Adhikari had earlier made it clear that his govt would not continue the blanket grant scheme and would instead identify committees that genuinely required financial assistance.The chief minister also assured the Forum that all puja committees would continue to receive tax-free benefits from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for outdoor advertisements during the period between Mahalaya and Lakshmi Puja. Organisers were also told that the govt would work towards providing a 100% electricity subsidy from CESC during the puja days.The Forum said several other issues, including permission for pujas on major roads and lanes were discussed at the meeting. Adhikari is expected to announce the govt’s decisions on these issues at a meeting later this month after consultations with the departments concerned, sources said.The stance on grants has been closely watched since the BJP came to office in Bengal in May, particularly because several prominent pujas were associated with former Trinamool functionaries.Organisers of smaller pujas have welcomed the proposed selective approach.“We welcome the chief minister’s decision to provide grants to small puja committees while leaving out the bigger ones,” said Subir Dutta of Friends Association puja committee in Kalikapur.Subhasree Basu of Jadavpur Porshimohol said the entire budget of their puja last year was Rs 1.4 lakh out of which they got a grant of Rs 1.1 lakh from the govt. “We are totally dependent on the grant. If we don’t get the financial aid, we will have to stop the puja,” she said.With Durga Puja scheduled for the third week of Oct, this year’s puja will be the first under the new govt.
