Guardian Minister Sunetra Pawar to Chair First District Planning Committee Meeting In Pune Tomorrow

Pune: The first meeting of the District Planning Committee (DPC) for the new year will be held on Thursday, February 12, under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister and Guardian Minister Sunetra Pawar. The meeting will take place at Vidhan Bhavan at 9 am, where the annual district plan for 2026–27 will be presented.

The district administration has prepared an annual plan of Rs 1,320 crore, which is Rs 60 crore less than last year’s proposal. In comparison, the 2025–26 plan was Rs 1,920 crore, which was later approved by the state government at Rs 1,379 crore after additional funding of Rs 287 crore.

Officials said the reduced allocation follows state government instructions to lower the overall target for District Planning Committee budgets this year. Accordingly, the district plan has been revised downward.

The meeting has drawn significant attention, as it will be the first DPC session chaired by Sunetra Pawar as Guardian Minister. Invitations have been sent to all MLAs and public representatives in the district.

Last year, under the leadership of former Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar, the district plan marked a shift in priorities. Instead of focusing mainly on large infrastructure projects such as roads, electricity works, crematoriums and community centres, the emphasis moved towards strengthening education and healthcare.

Two major initiatives – Model Schools and Model Primary Health Centres (PHCs) – were introduced. Under this, 303 Zilla Parishad schools and 24 out of 108 health centres were selected for major upgrades. An estimated Rs 250 to Rs 300 crore was allocated for these improvements.