Raipur, Oct 27: The Chhattisgarh Cabinet has approved paddy procurement for the Kharif Marketing Year 2026–27 at ₹3,100 per quintal starting 15 November, capping purchases at 21 quintals per acre.

The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai at his official residence in Civil Lines on Tuesday.

More than 27.50 lakh registered farmers will be covered during the procurement drive. Farmers registered in the previous year with an AgriStack ID will not require fresh registration or physical loan books (rin pustika). Biometric verification and digital crop survey data will be used to process transactions.

To handle operations efficiently, 360 new procurement centres will be set up, bringing the total count across the state to 3,100. The Cabinet also ratified the auction disposal of surplus paddy from the 2024–25 and 2025–26 marketing years and approved per-acre input assistance under the Krishak Unnati Yojana for Kharif 2026 to encourage crop diversification.

Among major public welfare measures, the Cabinet extended power tariff concessions under the Mukhyamantri Urja Rahat Jan Abhiyan (M-Urja) for domestic users consuming up to 200 units, extending the benefit pool for households consuming up to 400 units monthly through 31 March 2027. The move will benefit around 7.25 lakh consumers.

To counter rising asphalt costs, the state sanctioned ₹130.88 crore in budgetary grants for road projects under the Chhattisgarh Rural Road Development Agency between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027. It also approved ₹70 crore to ₹100 crore for Public Works Department road projects tendered before 1 April 2026.

Approval was granted for a fully digital, cashless healthcare framework for state government employees and their dependents at empanelled hospitals, removing out-of-pocket expenses and manual reimbursement procedures.

The Cabinet approved the Mukhyamantri Adhosanrachna Mission-2026 with an allocation of ₹500 crore over five years (2026–27 to 2030–31) under the Public Works Department for GIS-based master planning, advance project preparation, quality audits, and tracking via WAMIS and e-Measurement books. The Mukhyamantri Paryatan Vikas Mission was also cleared with a ₹500 crore budget over five years to upgrade tourist infrastructure and promote homestays.

To boost rail connectivity, the government approved a 100 per cent equity investment via Chhattisgarh Railway Corporation Limited (CRCL) for the 295-km Katghora–Takhatpur–Mungeli–Kawardha–Khairagarh–Dongargarh project, estimated at ₹8,000 crore. The equity component of ₹2,000 crore will be shared equally between the state government and the Ministry of Railways.

Amendments to the Industrial Development Policy 2024–30 were approved to offer special incentive packages for coal gasification projects investing ₹1,000 crore or more. Revisions to the Industrial Land and Building Management Rules, 2015 were also sanctioned to streamline land allotment and e-auctions.

The Cabinet allocated 31.55 acres of Rajgami Sampada land in Somni, Rajnandgaon district, for a ₹400 crore multi-fruit processing facility under the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), expected to generate over 6,000 direct and indirect jobs. Additionally, 10 acres in Khaprikala was allotted to the Central Warehousing Corporation for new storage facilities. In-principle approval was granted for PPP-mode redevelopment of five government land assets in Durg, Ramanujganj, Jashpur, Sakti, and Dhamtari.

Under sports infrastructure, the Mukhyamantri Khel Utkarsh Mission was approved with a ₹100 crore budget for 2026–27 to set up talent identification pipelines, Athlete Management System tracking, and feeder centres across Ambikapur, Bilaspur, Raipur, Durg, Jagdalpur, and Jashpur across 10 core disciplines.

To bolster governance, three leadership posts were created under the Department of Good Governance and Convergence, alongside a temporary Officer on Special Duty (Pay Level-16) post at Aranya Bhawan for PM Gati-Shakti and Parivesh portal oversight.

The Cabinet also approved restoring the historical name of Nagar Panchayat Kunra in Raipur district to Kunwargarh. Further, it decided to withdraw nine court cases related strictly to public political demonstrations and regularised the service period of the late Dr Rakesh Mohan Chandola, former Associate Professor at Raipur Medical College, for family pension processing.