With no agency or company coming forward to sponsor and organise the event, the municipal corporation has proposed a ₹1 crore outlay from its own budget for the 55th Rose Festival, scheduled to be held in February or March next year. The proposal will be tabled for consideration and approval at the General House meeting on October 28.
The proposed expenditure will be charged to the budget of the corporation’s art, culture and sports department.
According to the agenda, the House had earlier approved inviting expressions of interest (EOIs) for the 39th Chrysanthemum Show 2026 and the 55th Rose Festival 2027. Notices inviting reputed agencies, companies, individuals and proprietors to sponsor and organise the events were published in newspapers. However, no participants came forward.
The festival sees a keen audience for floral art, decorative arrangements, brass and pipe band shows, and cultural shows. The crowd favourites remain the Rose Prince and Rose Princess competition – a pageant for babies, Mr and Mrs Rose competition for adults, and Rose King and Rose Queen for seniors. For these competitions, an allocation of nearly ₹4 lakh has been proposed.
Of the estimated expenditure, ₹46 lakh has been earmarked for waterproof tentage, furniture, stage arrangements, floral displays, lighting, refreshments, drinking water and related facilities. Another ₹13 lakh is proposed for decorative and security lighting, arrangements for various events and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the Rose Garden, while ₹8 lakh has been allocated for horticulture-related work, including decorative entry and exit gates, bouquets and floral decorations.
A provision of ₹40 lakh has been proposed for publicity, event documentation, printing, entry forms, participation certificates, parking passes, brochures, invitations, videography, photography, transport, cultural programmes and related arrangements.
Aneesha Sareen is a Special Correspondent at the Hindustan Times head office in Chandigarh. A reporter with two decades of experience, Aneesha has her eyes and ears firmly on the ground. She has extensively covered crime, courts, administration, politics, the Municipal Corporation and industry across Chandigarh and Punjab. During her stint as HT bureau head in Ludhiana from 2016 to 2023, she led a team of young journalists reporting across the length and breadth of the industrial city and its surrounding areas. She has also worked with the Indian Express and The Tribune in the past. Currently, she covers politics and Administration in Chandigarh. When not chasing stories, Aneesha enjoys travelling and exploring new cuisines.Read More