Maharashtra cabinet approves 21 key decisions in one go ahead of local body elections

Ahead of local body elections, the Maharashtra cabinet meeting approved 21 key decisions in the areas of infrastructure development and the health sector. The State government enforced changes in policies such as the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, increasing the treatment limit to ₹10 lakh for serious illnesses. 

The cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also made some significant changes in policies for farmers, labourers, healthcare workers, and the judicial workforce, holding administrative and socio-economic significance. 

The Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) will now cover more diseases and increase the fees for frontline workers, who are involved in the process of helping beneficiaries get Ayushman cards, a statement by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Tuesday (November 4, 2025)

“Instead of 1356 treatments under 34 specialised services, a total of 2399 diseases will now be treated under 38 specialist services, providing relief for most of the diseases to the beneficiaries,” mentions the statement. 

The recommendations of the committee constituted to conduct a comparative study of the packages under the Extended Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (E-MJPJAY) and PMJAY had been approved by the Regulatory Council. Out of the total 2399 treatments under the E-MJPJAY and PMJAY, 223 treatments have been approved to be reserved for government hospitals as per the approval given by the Regulatory Council. 

Another decision in the healthcare sector is to treat absorption of the contractual employees into the regular posts as a one-time special matter without amending the service entry rules. It means, the contractual employees under the National Health Mission, who have completed 10 years of service, will be adjusted to equivalent posts within the Public Health Department and Rural Development Department.

These polices are seen as a way to woo the voters from different walks of life ahead of the upcoming local body elections. On Tuesday, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced to hold elections for 246 Municipal councils and 42 Nagar Panchayats on December 2, and soon implement the code of conduct. 

The other decisions taken during the meeting included tax and fee exemptions for 30,000 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Solapur district, and free land for devotees’ accommodation facilities in Washim district.

Similarly, the government approved 4% interest subsidy on short-term bank loans for fishermen and fish farmers reflecting Mahayuti’s move to woo people in coastal regions of Maharashtra. In the section of Judiciary, the government approved to set up a District and Sessions Courts in Pune district’s Shirur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district’s Paithan region. 

In terms of infrastructure and development, the Cabinet approved a state guarantee for loans from HUDCO to fund the Virar–Alibag Multipurpose Transport Route, while Minority Development Department approved Rs 94 crore for events hosting the 350th anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji in Nanded, Nagpur, and Raigad.