The third regional meeting of Urban Development Ministers of North-Central States was held in Bhopal on Saturday under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal, with discussions focusing on strengthening urban governance, accelerating flagship missions and charting a coordinated roadmap for India’s urban transformation.
Addressing the meeting, the Union Minister said India would achieve the goal of *Viksit@2047* only when every household, village, city and state becomes developed and self-reliant. He emphasised the need for collective action by the Centre and States to ensure inclusive and sustainable urban growth.
The meeting was attended by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state ministers from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, along with senior officials from the respective state governments and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The regional consultation brought together representatives from North-Central States including Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The Bhopal meeting followed earlier regional consultations held in Bengaluru in October and Hyderabad in November, which were part of a structured follow-up to the national meeting of Urban Development Ministers held in New Delhi in July this year.
During the meeting, the Union Minister released the Swachh Survekshan 2025–26 toolkit and virtually launched seven IT platforms of the Madhya Pradesh government aimed at improving citizen-centric urban service delivery.
Reviewing the progress of key central missions, the Minister underlined the importance of time-bound implementation of action plans under the Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban, particularly focusing on faster remediation of legacy dumpsites through the Dumpsite Remediation Accelerator Programme and effective execution of the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative.
Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), States were urged to strengthen on-ground implementation, ensure sustainability of water and sanitation assets, maximise reuse of treated wastewater and accelerate project execution to achieve saturation in tap water supply and sewerage coverage.
The Minister also reviewed progress under the Housing for All mission, stressing completion of pending Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban houses and the rollout of PMAY 2.0. States were encouraged to improve occupancy of affordable housing projects, facilitate access to home loans for beneficiaries and continue public outreach under the Angikaar campaign till March 2026.
Urban transport issues, including implementation of the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, expansion of metro networks and strengthening of first- and last-mile connectivity, were also discussed.
State ministers appreciated the Centre’s consultative approach and said such regional meetings would help identify shared priorities, promote peer learning and accelerate reforms in urban development.
Later in the day, the Union Minister flagged off a new metro line in Bhopal and undertook a metro ride from Subhash Nagar station to AIIMS station along with the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
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