To mark Urban Development Year 2025, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated various projects worth an estimated Rs 73.01 crore in different zones and laid the foundation stone for projects worth around Rs 362.45 crore, in Surat on Saturday.With Surat city acing the Super Swachh League as the cleanest city in India, CM Patel congratulated the sanitation workers.On the occasion, Union Minister for Jal Shakti C R Paatil said, “Surat city is marching ahead and is a source of inspiration for other cities in the country.”Congratulating the sanitation workers along with officers and employees of the civic body, he appealed to the citizens to continuously maintain the achievements made in the field of cleanliness.The Union minister said, “Surat has done good work in rainwater harvesting with the people of the community and Rajasthani businessmen playing an important role in Jan Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB).Under the rainwater harvesting initiative, a total of 32 lakh structures have been constructed across 33 states and 611 districts in India. Under Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari-2, which started on June 1 this year, Gujarat stood in first position, while in Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari-1, it clinched the 6th position. In the JSJB-1, Banaskantha, which falls within the dark zone and is a dry area, has worked exponentially well. With the help of Banas Dairy Chairman Shanker Chaudhary, over 27,000 structures for Jal Sanchay were made in the district. Farmers paid 50%, and the remaining one was paid by Banas dairy in JSJB-1.”CM Patel has allocated a budget of Rs 50 lakh to the MLAs to accelerate the water conservation campaign launched under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Paatil said.Addressing the gathering, CM Patel said, “Suraksha and salamati paya ni pehli sharat chhe (Safety and security are the first basic conditions). PM Modi has given top priority to the country’s security and the safety of its people.”Story continues below this adHe said, “Under the leadership of PM Modi, the Indian Army has achieved resounding success in terms of surgical strikes, air strikes and recently, Operation Sindoor.”Keeping in mind the vision of PM Modi’s Developed India-2047, he said, “To raise the standards of ease of living in Surat, the foundation stone and inauguration of different development projects were done in Surat today. SMC is constantly striving to provide excellent infrastructure and basic facilities to the citizens. As part of the development works, tree plantation has been undertaken under the Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam Abhiyan to preserve the environment. The Catch the Rain Abhiyan has been undertaken to prevent water problems in the future.”He said, “Surat has the longest BRTS corridor in India, measuring 108 km. Under this, it is the first city in India to operate 100% electric buses. The participation of every citizen of Gujarat is necessary to develop Surat as a growth hub and become a world-class city.”The programme also included the launch of the logo for the Surat Gender and Inclusion Lab under the Sustainable Urban Mobility — Air Quality, Climate Action, and Accessibility (SUM-ACA) project with GIZ-Germany. Besides, three digital tools – E-Bus Planning and Optimization Tool, E-Bus Scheduling Tool, and Bus Key Performance Indicator Dashboard Tool – were launched. They have been developed in collaboration with GIZ-Germany to make the public transport service of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) effective.Story continues below this adAt the event, two films narrating the development and growth story of Surat were screened.At the event, CM Patel also watched a performance put together by the students of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) Lab at Suman School, which the Surat civic body runs.Besides, he conducted a computerised draw system of 1,494 houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna at Bhestan, Palanpur and Bhesan, from Sanjiv Kumar Auditorium in Surat.