Gujarat must pursue industrial growth without compromising its ecological resources, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said on Tuesday, stressing that development and environmental protection should be treated as complementary priorities.
Addressing the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2026 in Gandhinagar, Patel said the key challenge was to achieve economic growth while ensuring efficient and responsible use of natural resources.
“Development and environment are not contradictory. We need growth as well as greenery, industry as well as ecology, prosperity as well as sustainability,” he said.
Patel said Gujarat had sought to maintain this balance through initiatives in industrial development, renewable energy, waste and water management, and resource efficiency. He said the WCEF would provide the state an opportunity to showcase its experience to an international audience while learning from practices adopted elsewhere.
Citing the Somnath Temple as an example of circular economy practices in an institutional and religious setting, Patel said offerings such as flowers, bel patra, milk, water, panchamrit and clothes were processed rather than simply discarded.
“The sacred liquid generated during the temple’s abhishek is scientifically purified and made available as ‘Som-Ganga Jal’, while flowers, bel patra and other organic waste, including food waste, are converted into manure,” he said.
Plastic waste is also used to make paver blocks, with women from local Sakhi Mandals trained and involved in the process, he said.
Patel said such initiatives demonstrated that converting waste into resources could have both economic and environmental benefits. “The ‘Waste to Wealth’ approach could also contribute to rural livelihoods and give greater momentum to the rural economy,” he said.
He added that the circular economy could contribute to energy security as countries navigated changing global conditions.
Patel also linked circular economy principles with India’s traditional practices of reuse and recycling, saying these could be combined with modern technology, policy and industrial systems.
The Chief Minister said the four-day forum should move beyond discussions and help develop practical solutions that could be adopted across countries. He expressed confidence that the deliberations would contribute to global welfare and advance the principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ through international cooperation on circularity.
(IANS Inputs)
