Sunetra Pawar to Chair First DPC Meeting of the Year; Pune District Plan Proposed at Rs 1,320 Crore

Pune, 11th February 2026: 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 session, scheduled at 9 am at Vidhan Bhavan, will focus on presenting the proposed annual district plan for 2026–27.

The district administration has proposed an outlay of Rs 1,320 crore for the upcoming financial year. This is ₹60 crore lower than last year’s initial proposal. In comparison, the 2025–26 district plan had originally been projected at Rs 1,920 crore, but was later approved by the state government at Rs 1,379 crore after additional funding of Rs 287 crore was sanctioned.

Officials said the reduction in this year’s proposed allocation follows directives from the state government to scale down budget targets for District Planning Committees across Maharashtra. Accordingly, Pune district’s plan size has been revised downward in line with these instructions.

The meeting carries added significance as it will be the first DPC session chaired by Sunetra Pawar in her role as Guardian Minister. Invitations have been extended to all MLAs and public representatives from the district to participate in the deliberations.

Last year’s district plan, prepared under the leadership of former Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar, marked a shift in developmental priorities. Instead of focusing predominantly on large infrastructure works such as roads, electrification, crematoriums and community halls, the emphasis moved toward improving education and healthcare services.

Two major initiatives — Model Schools and Model Primary Health Centres (PHCs) — were launched as part of that strategy. Under these programmes, 303 Zilla Parishad schools and 24 of the district’s 108 health centres were selected for substantial upgrades, with an estimated Rs 250 to Rs 300 crore earmarked for the improvements.

Further deliberations and final fund allocations are expected to be clarified after Thursday’s meeting.