The District Planning Committee (DPC), in its meeting held on the first day of the New Year, approved the draft annual plan of Rs 668 crore for the year 2024-25 as per the limit prescribed by the State Government. However, the agencies have submitted additional demands of Rs 1,431 crore over and above that. The additional demands also will be discussed in the State-level planning meeting to be held soon, after which the district annual plan size will be finalised. The draft plan for 2024-25 was cleared in the DPC meeting held on Monday at Dr Vasantrao Deshpande Hall here. Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister and Guardian Minister of Nagpur district, chaired the meeting. Mukta Kokadde, President of Zilla Parishad (ZP); Krupal Tumane, Member of Parliament, Ramtek; Chandrashekhar Bawankule, MLC and State President of Bharatiya Janata Party; Dr Vipin Itankar, District Collector; Dr Bhimaraya Metri, Director of the Indian Institute of Management-Nagpur; Dr Abhijeet Chaudhari, Municipal Commissioner, and the elected representatives who are members of the DPC were present prominently. After taking stock of the implementation of the district annual plan for 2023-24 and clearing draft plan for 2024-25, Fadnavis asked the officials concerned to utilise the DPC funds expeditiously on various development works.

 

Pointing out that only 51.33 per cent of funds released in 2023-24 could be utilised till December 2023, and that only three months remained for the current financial year to close, he asked the officials to submit proposals and ensure full utilisation of funds released, at the earliest. The proposals should be submitted expeditiously so that those could be cleared before the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct for the forthcoming elections in 2024. He asked the officials concerned to pay heed seriously to this aspect. In the meeting, approval was granted to expenditure of Rs 852.90 crore incurred in 2022-23. From 2024-25, the district annual plan will include road safety measures scheme of Home (Transport) Department. The draft plan for 2024-25 comprises General, Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP), and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP). From various agencies, proposals worth Rs 2,100 crore were received for the upcoming financial year. The Government approved limit is Rs 668.70 crore, and the implementing agencies have submitted additional demands of Rs 1,431 crore above that. It was decided to give nod to draft annual plan of Rs 668 crore within Government limits, and submit the draft plan for approval in State-level planning meeting. In that meeting, additional demands also will be discussed. After deliberations on various aspects only, final approval will be granted to the district annual plan for 2024-25.