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Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], September 3 (ANI): Lieutenant General A.V.S. Rathee, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Indian Army's 12 Corps paid a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, stated a release from the Gujarat Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

Rathee assumed charge as GOC of the 12 Corps on June 17, 2025. The operational jurisdiction of this Corps covers parts of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

In a post on social media X, CM Patel conveyed his best wishes to Rathee on his new position.

'Met Lieutenant General AVS Rathee, General Officer Commanding of the Indian Army's XII Corps, in Gandhinagar. Conveyed best wishes to him on taking charge as the GoC of XII Corps,' the post read.

Earlier in the day, the CM in line with the Urban Development Year made a significant decision to accelerate the citizen-centric projects carried out by local authorities in urban areas, stated a release.

The Chief Minister has raised the approval limits for municipalities by 50% for projects funded under Urban Development Department schemes and the State's Decentralised District Planning Programme.

The release said, 'In 2005, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the foundation of planned urban development by initiating the celebration of the Urban Development Year.'

Marking two decades of progress, CM has declared 2025 as the Urban Development Year to foster smart and sustainable urban growth. 'To achieve this goal, the enhanced financial authority limits will help accelerate development works in cities and ensure the quick implementation of urban civic amenities, making the decision highly effective,' the release further said.

For this purpose, CM has raised the approval limit for technical and administrative approvals of development works for 'A' category municipalities from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 70 lakh, an increase of Rs 20 lakh. Additionally, approval limits have been raised: from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for 'B' category municipalities; from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh for 'C' category'; and from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for 'D' category municipalities.

The CM further directed that once technical and administrative approval is granted by the municipal-level committee, the Regional Municipal Commissioner (RCM) office shall release the grant to the concerned municipality within five days of receiving the proposal. (ANI)