Cabinet clears Rs 24k cr devpt package; Indore Metro gets Rs 19k cr boost

Bhopal: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved proposals worth over Rs 24,200 crore, anchored by a sharply revised funding package for the Indore Metro Rail project and a fresh outlay for wildlife conservation under Project Tiger and Elephant.The meeting, chaired by CM Mohan Yadav, cleared a revised financial package of Rs 19,472.29 crore for the Indore Metro. The project’s original cost of Rs 7,500.80 crore has been revised upward by Rs 5,388.58 crore, pushing the base cost to Rs 12,889.38 crore. A further Rs 6,582.91 crore was approved under PPP components and internal debt liabilities.Officials said the additional financing includes Rs 1,696.74 crore as extra equity contribution by the Centre and the state govt, Rs 214.64 crore as subordinate debt for central taxes, Rs 3,496.15 crore as additional PTA/internal loan against bank loan funds, and Rs 656.96 crore towards state taxes, besides Rs 518.42 crore for IDC costs.

The revised approval comes amid rising infrastructure and financing costs linked to the urban transit project.The cabinet approved Rs 2,381.15 crore for implementation of Project Tiger and Elephant and rehabilitation of villages falling in sensitive wildlife habitats during the 16th Finance Commission period from April 2026 to March 2031. Of this, Rs 1,131.15 crore will be spent on recurring and non-recurring wildlife conservation activities in tiger reserves, Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, including habitat improvement, forest protection, fire management, water source development and elephant management.

Another Rs 1,250 crore has been earmarked for rehabilitation of 94 villages located in ecologically sensitive protected forest zones. The relocation exercise will cover villages in Sanjay Tiger Reserve, Satpura Tiger Reserve, Panna Tiger Reserve, Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, Ratapani Tiger Reserve, Orchha Sanctuary and Kuno National Park.Among other major decisions, the cabinet approved Rs 687 crore for educational and residential facilities for tribal students, Rs 639.25 crore for sericulture and silk production schemes aimed at boosting rural livelihoods, Rs 531.78 crore for labour welfare and industrial safety programmes, and Rs 492.45 crore for strengthening local fund audit operations.Besides, the cabinet cleared a pilot project to run community health centres in Rewa, Dewas and Guna through an outsourced model in areas facing shortage of doctors. A five-member cabinet sub-committee was constituted to study the proposed Mega Health Service Infrastructure Incentive Policy-2026 aimed at attracting philanthropic investment in super-speciality healthcare facilities in the state.