Cabinet approves ₹5,940 crore revised Jharia Master Plan for rehabilitation: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Hindu

25-06-2025

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) passed a resolution 'to commemorate and honour the sacrifices of countless victims of the Emergency.
'The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi passed a resolution 'to commemorate and honour the sacrifices of countless individuals who valiantly resisted the Emergency and its attempts at subversion of the spirit of Indian Constitution', 50 years ago,' Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
They also approved the ₹5,940-crore revised Jharia Master Plan (JMP) to deal with fire and rehabilitation of affected families. The total financial outlay for the implementation of the revised plan is ₹5,940.47 crore.
The revised JMP lays a much stronger emphasis on sustainable livelihood generation for families being resettled under the plan.
Targeted skill development programmes are to be undertaken, and income-generating opportunities will be created to ensure economic self-reliance of the rehabilitated families.
Breathing fire | On hot coals at Jharia coal fields
The Jharia Master Plan for dealing with fire, subsidence and rehabilitation in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district was approved by the Centre in August 2009, with an implementation period of 10 years and a pre-implementation period of two years with an estimated investment of ₹7,112.11 crore. The plan expired in 2021.
Pune metro line 2
The Cabinet also approved the extension of Pune metro line 2 of ₹3,626 crore, comprising two elevated corridors that span 12.75 km.
'These two elevated corridors will span 12.75 km and include 13 stations, connecting fast-developing suburbs such as Chandani Chowk, Bavdhan, Kothrud, Kharadi and Wagholi. The project is scheduled for completion within four years,' Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
'This strategic proposal is a logical extension of the existing Corridor-2 and aligns with the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP), which envisions a continuous Chandani Chowk to Wagholi Metro corridor to strengthen East–West mass transit in Pune,' Mr. Vaishnaw said.
After completion of these corridors, the projected incremental daily ridership for the entire Line-2 is estimated at 0.96 lakh in 2027, 2.01 lakh in 2037, 2.87 lakh in 2047 and 3.49 lakh in 2057.
International Potato Centre's
The establishment of International Potato Centre's regional centre in Agra, Uttar Pradesh costing ₹111.50 crore.
The major objective of this investment is to increase food and nutrition security, farmers' income, and job creation by improving potato and sweet potato productivity, post-harvest management and value-addition, an official release said.
The potato segment has the potential to generate significant employment opportunities in production, processing, packaging, transportation, marketing, and value chain.
In order to explore the huge potential in this sector, the International Potato Centre (CIP)'s South Asia regional Centre is being established at Singna, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, the release said.
High-yielding, nutrient and climate-resilient varieties of potato and sweet potato developed by CSARC will significantly accelerate the sustainable development of the crop, not only in India but also in the South Asia region also through world-class science and innovation.
(with inputs from PTI)