VARANASI, March 27 -- Finance minister and minister in-charge of Varanasi, Suresh Khanna, on Thursday said the district's GDP has surged from Rs.22,586 crore in 2017 to Rs.56,900 crore at present, while per capita income has reached Rs.1,14,685. Interacting with media persons, Khanna said there are plans to develop a Kashi Sports City township with state-of-the-art facilities over 100-150 acres in Ganjari village near the international cricket stadium currently under construction. To ease traffic congestion caused by the rising movement of heavy vehicles, a 'Transport Nagar' scheme is being developed over 48 hectares, the minister said. Highlighting infrastructure growth, Khanna said that over the past nine years, 486 major projects covering roads, bridges, drinking water, sewerage, STPs, education, healthcare, energy, tourism, urban development and police welfare have been completed in Varanasi at a cost of over Rs.35,156 crore. Projects worth more than Rs.17,915 crore are currently under construction in the district, he added. He also said there is a proposal to develop an Integrated Divisional Office Complex (ICCC) on 2.6 acres within the divisional commissioner's premises, which will house 58 departments. Urban areas in the district have expanded by 5% over the past nine years, Khanna said. Providing details of rural and environmental initiatives, he said 49 cremation grounds were constructed between April 2017 and December 2025 under RGSA, while 107 Common Service Centres were set up during the same period. A total of 1,44,98,523 saplings were planted in the district between 2017-18 and 2025-26, including 31,67,518 by the forest department and 1,13,31,005 by other departments. To curb air pollution, 2,57,246 saplings have been planted using the Miyawaki method between 2020-21 and 2025-26 across 8.517 hectares. The 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' scheme has been implemented since 2023-24, the minister said....