Kolkata

The West Bengal government will extend all possible assistance to Durga Puja organisers in Kolkata and across the state, a senior official of the Forum for Durgotsav, an apex platform of community puja organisers, said on Monday.

Two officials of the platform met Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state secretariat recently, during which he assured them that the government would extend all possible support for Durga Puja celebrations, senior member Partha Ghosh told PTI.

"Durga Puja will be held, and the government will extend all possible support," Ghosh quoted Adhikari as saying.

Asked whether the chief minister had indicated that financial assistance would likely be restricted to smaller puja committees with budgets below Rs 10 lakh, Ghosh, the spokesperson for Shivmandir Sarbojonin Durga Puja, said no such decision had been announced.

"Nothing has been announced by the state government yet. We are waiting for a policy decision on the matter. However, like many other big-budget and acclaimed pujas, we are going ahead with preparations, including ‘Khuti Puja’," he said.

‘Khuti Puja’ is a customary ritual performed before building a marquee to host the idol.

A state government official said Adhikari had already indicated that his government would not continue the previous practice of providing financial assistance to all police-approved Durga Puja committees in the state.

Instead, the government is considering identifying puja committees that genuinely require financial support and extending grants selectively, the official said.

A final decision is likely to be taken after discussions with the state finance department, he said.

Until last year, the previous TMC-run government provided Rs 1.10 lakh each to all police-approved puja committees in the state.

The grant was first introduced in 2018, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount was raised to Rs 50,000 per committee to support puja organisers facing financial difficulties during the lockdown.

The amount was subsequently increased in phases and reached Rs 1.10 lakh in 2025.

Several issues related to Durga Puja celebrations in the city, including permissions for holding pujas on major roads and lanes, electricity concessions, reduction of civic taxes on hoardings and banners, and financial assistance, were discussed during the meeting, the Forum said.

"We hope the government will announce its decisions on these matters at a meeting later this month after consultations with the departments concerned," the Forum said.

The uncertainty over the grant has left several smaller puja committees waiting before finalising their budgets. Some organisers have reportedly been forced to cut expenses, alter planned themes and, in some cases, change theme artists.

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A member of a Behala-based puja committee said their budget was not even Rs 5 lakh and government assistance would help them improve the scale of the celebrations.

Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the Bengali Hindu community, is scheduled to be held in the second week of October.