The District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC) approved an outlay of Rs 1,503.50 crore for the Annual Plan 2026-27 during its meeting held at Niyojan Bhavan, on Monday. Chandrashekhar Bawankule, State Revenue Minister and Guardian Minister, chaired the meeting and directed all departments to prepare a three-year integrated development blueprint to make district planning funds more outcome-oriented and development-focused. The DPDC also approved expenditure of Rs 1,327 crore incurred under the 2025-26 District Annual Plan.

 

The proposed 2026-27 outlay comprises Rs 1,214 crore under the General Plan, Rs 195 crore for the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan, and Rs 94.50 crore for the Tribal Component Programme. Bawankule said departments should move beyond annual planning and prepare integrated three-year plans with clearly defined goals and measurable outcomes to ensure optimum utilisation of public funds. Adv Ashish Jaiswal, Minister of State for Finance; Shyamkumar Barve, Member of Parliament; Nitin Raut, Krishna Khopde, Vikas Thakre, Mohan Mate, Pravin Datke, Samir Meghe, Dr Ashish Deshmukh, Sanjay Meshram and Charansingh Thakur, all Members of Legislative Assembly; Parinay Fuke, Abhijit Wanjari, Krupal Tumane, Sudhakar Adbale, Dr Rajiv Potdar and Sanjay Bhende, all Members of Legislative Council; and other committee members, including District Collector Kumar Ashirwad, Municipal Commissioner Dr Vipin Itankar, Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nangre Patil, Superintendent of Police Dr Harssh Poddar, ZP CEO Vinayak Mahamuni, Divisional Conservator of Forest Dr Vinita Vyas and District Planning Officer Sanjay Kadu, also were present. 

 

 

During the meeting, Bawankule said changing climatic conditions had posed fresh challenges for the agriculture sector and stressed the need to safeguard farmers’ interests. He directed officials to ensure farmers are not cheated through poor-quality seeds and asked departments to immediately report cases of crop failure due to non-germination. He also instructed officials to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply for agriculture. Highlighting water conservation as a priority, Bawankule said Agriculture, Irrigation and Forest departments should jointly undertake restoration of the district's nearly 6,500 water sources. The committee approved proposals for 119 nullah deepening works and 18 check dam repairs in Saoner, Hingna, Katol, Ramtek, Kamptee and Umred. Urban local bodies also were asked to intensify groundwater recharge measures. 

 

 

To tackle encroachments on Government land, Bawankule announced the formation of a special task force under the Municipal Commissioner. The panel will coordinate with the Nagpur Improvement Trust, Nazul authorities, police and revenue officials to remove encroachments. 

 

 

The meeting also focused on law and order, with concerns raised over the spread of MD drugs, hookah parlours and violent crimes. Bawankule said the Government was determined to eliminate the menace of synthetic drugs, while Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil informed the committee that a three-tier security system had been put in place and the Rs 110-crore CCTV surveillance project would further strengthen policing in the city. Earlier, Bawankule distributed electric three-wheelers to 28 persons with disabilities under the Zilla Parishad’s Divyang Cess Fund to promote self-employment opportunities.

 

 

The Minister announced that the Government would examine amendments to existing norms to allow District Annual Plan funds to be used more effectively for agriculture-related activities such as processing, packaging and artificial intelligence-based technologies. He also directed officials to prepare a roadmap for establishing organic agriculture malls in every taluka to connect farmers directly with consumers.