The third regional meeting of Urban Development Ministers was held in Bhopal on December 20, 2025 under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Manohar Lal.

The national level meeting of the Urban Development Ministers held on July 17, 2025 in New Delhi laid the foundation of this consultation at the regional level. The deliberations centered around key issues, challenges, and opportunities in urban development to chart a collective way forward, in line with the first and second regional meetings held in Bengaluru on October 30, 2025, and Hyderabad on November 18, 2025 respectively.

The meeting was attended by Shri Mohan Yadav, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Kailash Vijayvargiya, Hon’ble Minister of Urban Development and Housing Department, Madhya Pradesh, Ms. Pratima Bagri, Hon’ble Minister of State for Urban Development and Housing, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Arun Sao, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister and Hon’ble Minister of Urban Administration and Development, Chhattisgarh, Shri Jhabar Singh Kharra, Hon’ble Minister of State of Urban Development and Local Self-Governance Development, Rajasthan, Shri Arvind Kumar Sharma, Hon’ble Minister of Urban Development, Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, Energy, Uttar Pradesh, Shri Rakesh Rathore, Hon’ble State Minister of Urban Development, Uttar Pradesh, along with senior officers from the respective State Governments. The meeting was attended by senior officers from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The regional meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India in collaboration with the Urban Development Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh. The meeting brought together Urban Development Ministers and senior-level officials, including Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries from the North-Central States Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

In his opening remarks, Hon’ble Union Minister said “India will be Viksit@2047, when every household, village, city, and state is Viksit and Atmanirbhar”. The Hon’ble Union Minister released the Swachh Survekshan 2025–26 toolkit. Seven IT platforms of the Government of Madhya Pradesh were also video launched to strengthen simple, convenient, and effective citizen-centric service delivery.

The Hon’ble Union Minister reviewed the progress of various central missions.

Under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U), the Hon’ble Minister emphasised the need for adoption of dumpsites under the Dumpsite Remediation Accelerator Programme (DRAP) framework by political and administrative leadership, with a focus on fast-tracking remediation efforts. All participating States were asked to ensure time-bound implementation of action plans prepared under Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) through effective coordination between mentor and mentee cities.

Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the Hon'ble Minister emphasised the need for strengthening on-ground implementation, improving the quality and sustainability of urban water and sanitation assets, and maximising the reuse of treated wastewater. All participating States were asked to accelerate project execution, enhance coordination, and achieve saturation in tap water supply and sewerage coverage.

Under ‘Housing for All’ mission, completion of under construction Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U), houses and grounding of PMAY-2.0 houses was emphasised by Hon’ble Union Minister. He also encourages state officials to ensure the occupancy of AHP houses and making home loans available to beneficiaries. For this purpose, Angikaar campaign will be continued till March 2026 and public outreach will be carried out for convergence of various benefits to PMAY beneficiaries.

Issues related to PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, were discussed along with densification of metro networks, and first-last mile connectivity under urban transport.

The State Ministers appreciated MoHUA’s collaborative approach in engaging with states through such regional consultations. These regional meetings will be convened across other regions of the country to identify shared priorities, regional opportunities, and chart reform pathways for peer learning that can accelerate India’s urban transformation journey.

The Hon’ble Union Minister also flagged off the new metro line and took the metro ride from Subhash Nagar metro station to AIIMS metro station with the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

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SK

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