East Ahmedabad has numbers, yet west gets big-ticket projects

Ahmedabad: The eastern parts of Ahmedabad are larger in area, more densely populated, and send more councillors to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Yet when it comes to big-ticket development projects, the western areas of the city have consistently come out ahead. Over the past five years, a string of major projects have been approved or implemented in the west. These include the Naranpura Sports Complex worth Rs 825 crore, a Rs 334 crore road development project under the sports, education and health precinct tag, and a Rs 405 crore plan for seven iconic road projects — five of which are in western Ahmedabad. On top of that, a Rs 660 crore iconic development project is planned for SG Highway, and a Rs 692 crore City Square Development Project on Sindhu Bhavan Road in Bodakdev is currently in the approval process.The numbers in the AMC's 2026-27 budget tell a similar story. Of the Rs 1,112.65 crore allocated for new development and iconic projects across seven zones, Rs 602.11 crore went to 18 wards in the three western zones, while Rs 510.54 crore was set aside for 30 wards in the eastern zones — a gap of Rs 91.57 crore, despite the east having nearly 12 more wards. The disparity was flagged during a general board meeting in Feb, where members alleged that the eastern areas had been short-changed in the budget.The geographic picture adds to the contrast. The eastern zone covers 247.45 sq km and the western zone 233.43 sq km — out of a total city area of 480.88 sq km — making the east both the larger and the more populous half.Politically, the east also carries more weight. In the 2021 AMC elections, the eastern areas had 120 seats across 30 wards, compared to 72 seats across 18 wards in the west. Of the 192 total seats, BJP won 160, Congress 24, AIMIM seven, and one independent. In the west, BJP swept 67 of 72 seats, with Congress winning two and AIMIM three. In the east, BJP won 93 of 120 seats, Congress took 22, AIMIM four, and one independent won a seat.Despite this overwhelming political mandate from the eastern residents, the flow of capital remains heavily diverted toward the western skyline, leaving the city's more populous half in a state of perennial developmental catch-up.