Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, on Tuesday approved proposals worth over Rs 23,300 crore covering forest development, wildlife conservation, irrigation and urban infrastructure. Briefing the media after the meeting at the Mantralaya, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Chetanya Kashyap said a major share of the approvals was related to forest development and wildlife conservation, news agency ANI reported.
Source: ANI
Of the forest package of Rs 17,240.55 crore, sanctioned for the continuation of nine existing schemes from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031, Rs 10,664.79 crore is for the establishment of working plan organisations and forest circles, Rs 1,994.30 crore for compensatory afforestation, Rs 1,623.79 crore for the establishment of national parks, Rs 1,107.06 crore for timber production and Rs 604.23 crore for zoos and rescue centres. Funds have also been approved for headquarters establishment, forest training centres, preparation of working plans and wildlife management outside protected areas.
The cabinet also approved Rs 4,103.73 crore for the continued operation of irrigation projects in Panna, Vidisha, Mauganj, Sidhi, Singrauli and Ujjain for the financial years 2026-27 to 2030-31. Under the urban infrastructure initiative, an additional Rs 700 crore was approved to continue the Chief Minister Urban Area Infrastructure Development Scheme for two years, from April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2029; the scheme covers drinking water supply, sanitation, street lighting, disaster management, roads, drains, cremation grounds, community buildings, sports facilities and night shelters.
To encourage industrial investment in the medical and healthcare sector, the cabinet approved Rs 610.51 crore for the continuation of the Industry Investment Promotion Assistance Scheme from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031, under which investors are given subsidies for creating capital assets under the Madhya Pradesh Health Sector Investment Promotion Policy 2020 and 2025. It also approved Rs 573.85 crore for the functioning of the Lokayukta organisation for the same five-year period, of which Rs 553.85 crore is for establishment expenses, salaries and office expenditure and Rs 20 crore for maintenance of departmental assets.
The council of ministers also approved the creation of one regular post of Assistant Research Officer (Museum In-charge), with an annual expenditure of Rs 83.18 lakh, for the operation and maintenance of the Raja Shankar Shah-Kunwar Raghunath Shah Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum in Jabalpur. Nation Press also reported the same cabinet sitting, putting the total value of projects cleared at about Rs 23,288 crore. Tuesday's approvals are separate from the cabinet's October 27 sitting, which had cleared a different Rs 8,225 crore package for irrigation, CAMPA forestry and health schemes.
Source: Nation Press
Most of Tuesday's money is continuation funding for existing schemes spread over the five years to 2031, rather than a single year's spending. The next step is departmental orders and budgetary release, against which the forest, irrigation and urban schemes will be executed district by district.