During the legislative session, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav announced that the State Government is preparing to hold an ‘Agriculture Cabinet’ in the tribal-dominated districts of Barwani, Dhar and Jhabua. He specified that this meeting will take place during the Bhagoria festival. The CM further noted that the Cabinet has approved declarations in the interest of farmers, including a bonus of Rs 600 per quintal on Urad procurement. Additionally, with mustard production estimated to rise by 28% to 71 lakh tonnes, payments will be made under the Bhavantar Yojana. Treasury Bench Concerns: Irregularities in Sagar and Sports Co-ordination: BJP MLA Shailendra Jain raised concerns regarding the Urban Development and Housing Department, stating that in Sagar, payments have been made to contractors for half a dozen buildings, yet repair work is being affected. He alleged fraud in departmental schemes and supported the observation that many families still do not possess property registries. Parallelly, BJP MLA Umakant Sharma suggested a co-ordination between the urban bodies and the Sports Department. He urged the Government to organise ‘City Olympics’ in every municipal body to provide opportunities to players from small towns. He remarked that while large cities have stadiums, smaller towns lack the necessary platform to produce athletes, making departmental co-ordination essential to fill vacant stadiums with talent.

 

Opposition Criticism: Infrastructure Quality and Metro Integration: Congress MLA and former minister Jaivardhan Singh criticised the quality of work under the Amrit Yojana, claiming that DPRs made over the last 12 years lacked future planning. He also highlighted that making registries mandatory for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has placed an extra financial burden on the extremely poor. Regarding urban transport, Singh asserted that the Metro will never be successful until it is linked with public transport. He expressed serious concern over the Master Plan, noting that Bhopal’s plan has been pending since 2005 and Indore’s plan is constantly delayed. He also alleged corruption in the construction of the new Bhopal Municipal Corporation building, stating the cost jumped from an initial Rs 22 crore tender to Rs 72 crore to benefit a contractor. He further alleged massive irregularities in pipeline projects across 400 cities. Budgetary concerns for urban development: Jaivardhan Singh pointed out that the Urban Development and Housing Department received only 5% of the total budget, whereas it should be at least 10% to manage growing populations. He noted that funds for infrastructure and basic amenities have been reduced, the Kayakalp scheme was slashed from Rs 400 crore to Rs 200 crore, and only Rs 15 crore was allocated for protecting water from sewage contamination. Singh said, “The Government has not taken lesson from the incident that has taken place in Bhagirathpura, Indore”.