Bhopal Metro cost swells 44% to Rs 10k cr; cabinet clears Rs 3k cr more

Bhopal: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved a steep revision in the Bhopal Metro Rail Project cost, raising it to Rs 10,033.6 crore, over 44% higher than the original estimate of Rs 6,941.4 crore. Besides, the cabinet meeting, chaired by CM Mohan Yadav, approved an additional Rs 3,532 crore in financial support, taking the total sanctioned package close to Rs 13,566 crore.The govt said the enhanced outlay and fresh funding would help speed up construction and bolster urban transport in the state capital. The additional financing includes extra equity contributions from the Centre and the state govt, subordinate loans for taxes, land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement, besides internal borrowings linked to bank funding for the project.Apart from the metro project, the cabinet also approved a major overhaul in mandi fee structures aimed at balancing industry and farmer welfare. The mandi fee on cotton was reduced from 1% to 0.5% to support cotton ginning mills and improve their competitiveness against neighbouring states. The govt said the move would help retain business within Madhya Pradesh and boost employment and GST collections.At the same time, the cabinet increased the general mandi fee on agricultural produce from Re 1 to Rs 1.50. The revised levy is expected to generate nearly Rs 500 crore in additional annual revenue, which will be used for farmer welfare measures, rural roads, cold storage, warehousing, logistics infrastructure and agricultural research.The cabinet also approved Rs 235.6 crore for IT consultancy services and digital governance initiatives between 2026 and 2031. The plan includes strengthening the state’s digital transformation framework, cyber security systems, AI readiness and e-governance training programmes.In another major decision linked to crop procurement operations, the cabinet approved free govt guarantees worth Rs 8,600 crore for procurement agencies, including MPSCSC and Markfed, to facilitate borrowing for wheat, paddy and coarse grain procurement during the upcoming rabi and kharif marketing seasons.