Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Guardian Minister of the Pune district, Sunetra Pawar, directed all concerned agencies to ensure that the sanctioned outlay of Rs 1,379 crore for the Pune District Annual Plan 2025-26 is spent on time.
She emphasised that it is everyone’s responsibility to complete the ongoing projects in the district with high quality and within stipulated timeframes. Giving an example of her late husband, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar, she told everyone to follow the path of discipline, quality, and punctuality.
For years, the late Ajit Pawar has been taking these meetings, as he has been the longest-serving non-consecutive deputy chief minister and also the guardian minister of Pune District. After his unfortunate demise on 28th January, his wife, Sunetra Pawar, took over his political responsibilities, and for the first time, she held a planning committee meeting in Pune District.
She provided guidance via video conferencing during the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC) meeting held at Vidhan Bhavan on Thursday. The meeting was organised to review the expenditure incurred up to the end of January 2026 for the year 2025-26 and to approve the draft plan for the year 2026-27.
The meeting saw the presence of several high-ranking officials and leaders, including Maharashtra Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Dattatray Bharne, Maharashtra Minister of State Madhuri Misal, Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson Dr Neelam Gorhe, MLAs Bhimrao Tapkir, Rahul Kul, Siddharth Shirole, MLC Amit Gorkhe and others.
Also, Pune Divisional Commissioner Dr Chandrakant Pulkundwar, Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, and various department heads.
Maharashtra Higher & Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, MPs Supriya Sule and Dr Amol Kolhe, and Pune City Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar attended online.
District Collector Jitendra Dudi presented the status of the district’s annual plan for 2025–26, which has been approved by the state government with a total outlay of Rs 1,589.46 crore.
This includes Rs 1,379 crore under the General District Plan, Rs 45 crore allocated for the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan, and Rs 65.46 crore earmarked for the Tribal Component Program. The meeting concluded with a review of the expenditure incurred under the 2025–26 plan and a detailed discussion on the proposed framework for the 2026–27 annual plan.
Highlights of the Meeting
- Budgetary Provisions: For the year 2026-27, the government has set a financial limit of Rs 1,032.88 crore. However, various departments have requested a total of Rs 3,128 crore. After scrutiny, an additional demand for ₹700 crore is being submitted to the government.
- Focus Areas: Sunetra Pawar stressed that rather than working on small, fragmented tasks, the DPDC should focus on large-scale projects that benefit the maximum number of citizens. Special attention must be given to the development of highly backward and remote areas.
- Timeline for Execution: A fixed timeline must be established for administrative approvals, tendering, and the implementation of works.
- Future Planning: While attending this meeting online, the Deputy CM announced she would hold an in-person, detailed review meeting in April. She instructed all elected representatives to immediately submit a list of priority works for their respective areas.
