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Gujarat’s ₹1,200-Crore Sabarmati Ashram Redevelopment Recasts Gandhi’s Legacy
Sabarmati Ashram is the place where Mahatma Gandhi lived and worked for many years.
A large project is restoring many of its old buildings and preparing some of them to become museums.
The project also plans paths, gardens and places where visitors can learn about Gandhi and the ashram.
The five-acre central area, including Gandhi’s home, is meant to keep its quiet character.
Some families who lived in the wider ashram area have moved out after receiving compensation or other housing options.
One family’s case is still being heard in court.
Officials say the project has spent ₹190 crore on helping residents relocate.
Some details, such as ticketing, have not yet been decided.
The ₹1,200-crore project aims to restore Sabarmati Ashram’s 55-acre site to how it stood when Gandhi left in 1930, while adding modern visitor facilities.
The project plans to restore 28 buildings, with 24 intended to house museums about Gandhi, the ashram and its activities.
The Union Ministry of Culture and Gujarat government are carrying out the project through the Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Trust.
The project has spent ₹190 crore on rehabilitation so far; 223 of the 307 claimant families chose compensation, while one family’s relocation remains under litigation.
Plans include an interpretation centre, a food court, visitor parking and a plant-filled walkway; ticketing and some other visitor arrangements remain undecided.
- Who
- The Union Ministry of Culture, the Gujarat government and the Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Trust are carrying out the redevelopment; the site is associated with Mahatma Gandhi.
- What
- A ₹1,200-crore project to restore Sabarmati Ashram buildings and develop museums and visitor facilities.
- Where
- The 55-acre Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- When
- The project was launched in 2024; the article reports on work and plans as of its publication.
- Why
- To restore the ashram to how it stood when Gandhi left in 1930 and present its history, values and activities to visitors.
Residents’ claims
Project trust’s position
Relocation and property claims
Residents’ claims
The Rathod family, the only family still awaiting evacuation, disputes the relocation over three properties they say were handed to their predecessor by an ashram trustee around 1930; the case is in the Small Causes Court.
Project trust’s position
The project trust offered residents compensation, flats purchased by the trust or homes in cooperative housing financed by the trust. A project source said residents were treated respectfully and were not considered encroachers.
Preserving the ashram’s character
Residents’ claims
Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust chairman Kartikeya Sarabhai said the redevelopment should keep the ashram’s core values, including tranquility, and retain Hriday Kunj in an open maidan.
Project trust’s position
The redevelopment plan seeks to restore the wider site and add museums and modern visitor facilities; the project source said the goal was to present Gandhi’s life and the ashram’s history.
Key facts
- Project budget
- ₹1,200 crore
- Ashram area covered
- 55 acres
- Buildings to be restored
- 28
- Planned museums
- 24
- Rehabilitation spending reported
- ₹190 crore
- Relocation claims
- 307 claims involving residents of 256 buildings
- Families choosing compensation
- 223; payouts were reported as reaching up to ₹90 lakh per family
- Daily visitors to the existing ashram
- Nearly 4,000
Quotes
Kartikeya Sarabhai
Chairman of the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust.
“This country has not seen anyone like Gandhiji. We’ve been shaped by his ideology, and because we followed it, here I am before you at 104 years”
indianexpress.com
“Our only request was that the ashram’s core values — tranquility among them — stay at its heart”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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