Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Despite massive allocations for urban road infrastructure under Kayakalp Yojana, nearly Rs 395 crore remains unspent and 498 approved works have not even begun across Madhya Pradesh.
Urban Administration Department (UAD) had sanctioned Rs 1,421 crore for road upgradation, strengthening, and construction works across 10 divisions in two phases. However, only Rs 1,024 crore has been utilized so far.
While scheme shows 78% physical progress and 72% financial progress overall, unspent amount highlights gap between allocation and execution.
According to UAD, out of 4,877 sanctioned works statewide, 3,907 have been completed and 472 are under progress. However, 498 projects have not commenced. All pending works are scheduled for completion by March 2026, but high number of non-starter projects raises questions over timely delivery.
At municipal corporation level, 16 corporations were allocated Rs 543 crore but have spent around Rs 387 crore. Of 1,080 approved works, 766 are complete, 116 under progress and 190 yet to begin.
Major cities lag in physical progress
Jabalpur Municipal Corporation has reported lowest physical progress at 59%. It has utilised Rs 36.81 crore out of Rs 74.57 crore allocated, with 50 of its 146 works yet to start.
Bhopal Municipal Corporation follows with 63% physical progress despite showing 74% financial utilisation. As many as 45 out of 231 works in Bhopal remain unstarted.
Rewa Municipal Corporation has achieved 71% physical progress, while Ujjain Municipal Corporation stands at 72%. Burhanpur Municipal Corporation and Gwalior Municipal Corporation have performed relatively better, reporting 79% and 82% physical progress respectively.
Division-wise execution gaps widen
Jabalpur Division has 80 non-started works out of 730 sanctioned projects. The Bhopal Narmadapuram Division reports 102 projects yet to begin out of 887. Rewa Division has 23 pending works, while Indore Division has 57 awaiting initiation.
Gwalior Chambal Division also reports 104 works yet to start. In contrast, Sagar Division has achieved 82% physical progress and Shahdol Division leads with 88%.
Official response
UAD officials said Kayakalp Yojana does not apply to Indore Municipal Corporation as it is financially self-sufficient for road upgradation. However, with hundreds of works still pending and crores of rupees lying unused, target for completion remains end of March 2026.
