District Planning Committee Nod To Rs1,503cr Plan, Rs241cr AI Thrust For Agri | Nagpur News

Nagpur: A ₹1,503.50-crore District Annual Plan for 2026-27 was placed before the District Planning Committee (DPC) on Monday. Chairing the DPC meeting at the Zilla Niyojan Bhavan, guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said annual allocations should not be spent through disconnected works merely to meet deadlines and also directed every department to prepare an integrated three-year roadmap.The committee also approved expenditure incurred up to March 31, 2026, against the sanctioned outlay of ₹1,327 crore for 2025-26. The proposed ₹1,503.50-crore plan comprises ₹1,214 crore under the general scheme, ₹195 crore for the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and ₹94.50 crore under the Tribal Component Programme.Bawankule also announced a multi-department task force, headed by municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar, to speed up removal of encroachments from govt, NMC and NIT land. The panel will include the NIT chairperson Sanjay Meena, resident deputy collector Anup Khande and traffic police officials. Its first meeting will be held next week, with departments directed to submit details of all encroached land parcels immediately.The meeting also resolved to step up action against MD (mephedrone), hookah parlours, and violent crime. Police commissioner Vishwas Nangare Patil said a three-tier security mechanism has been introduced. Bawankule said ₹110 crore sanctioned for CCTV cameras would strengthen surveillance.Agriculture and water conservation also featured prominently during the discussion, with Bawankule flagging the growing strain of erratic weather on farmers. He directed officials to crack down on the sale of substandard seeds and other farm inputs, ensure that complaints of poor germination are reported to the govt without delay, and prevent power shortages from disrupting sowing and irrigation operations.Bawankule said existing rules governing district plan funds would be amended to enable spending on agro-processing, packaging, and artificial intelligence-based farm technologies. Bawankule also announced an AI-based initiative to boost orange cultivation, with ₹241 crore proposed for orange and allied agricultural projects. The technology will help farmers monitor soil moisture, pest attacks, and changing weather conditions through sensors and data-based advisories.He also directed officials to prepare plans for organic produce malls in every taluka, connecting farmers directly with consumers while promoting mechanisation, crop diversification, farmer producer companies and women-led agriculture.Earlier, 28 persons with disabilities received electric three-wheeler bikes under the Zilla Parishad’s Divyang Cess Fund.# SEPARATE DPC FOR NAGPUR CITY AFTER CENSUSChandrashekhar Bawankule announced that Nagpur city will have a separate District Planning Committee (DPC) after completion of the census, while rural areas will be covered by another DPC. The decision followed repeated complaints from MLAs Pravin Datke and Nitin Raut that city concerns were often overshadowed by rural issues in the existing committee. As an immediate step, a mini-DPC meet will be held at Niyojan Bhavan on July 27 exclusively to discuss urban development issues. MLA Nitin Raut told TOI, “This is not a new demand; we have been raising it for years. Even Devendra Fadnavis, when he was not chief minister, raised the issue several times alongside me. A separate DPC will ensure dedicated funds for the city.”