Over 500 gift items and souvenirs, including a jersey used by champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar's in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, were today donated by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to the state treasury for auctioning.
The proceeds from the auction, which will be held later in the year, will become part of the chief minister's Girl Child Education fund, where over Rs10 crore has already been collected in past 10 years through similar auctions.
"This year there are over 500 items which include gifts and souvenirs received by the chief minister from various corners of the country," assistant principal secretary to Modi GC Murmu said.
"All the items have been valued and its base price for the auction has been fixed based on the metal and other articles used in its making. The value of all the items that is being donated today is over Rs14 lakh," he said.
"Some items like the T-shirt donated by Sachin Tendulkar could not be valued as it has emotions attached to it. Its value would be ascertained only during the auction," Murmu said.
The blue T-shirt baring the name of the cricket maestro with number '10' written on the back was given to Modi in May this year by Tendulkar.
According to Murmu, ever since Modi became chief minister, he has been auctioning off the gifts given to him to fund the girl child education programme. Till date 6,634 gift items have been auctioned and over Rs10 crore have been raised in the last 10 years, he added.
Other articles that would be auctioned include statues made of silver and gold, handicrafts, paintings, items made of various metals, shawls, coins, photographs, traditional clothings, weapons made with intricate carvings and designs.
Gujarat government officials said that the chief minister's Girl Child Education Fund size has reached Rs48.78 crore in the last 10 years through donations from various corners.
Out of this, Rs15.54 crore has been disbursed among over 42,000 girls for their education.
