Maharashtra cabinet approves 21 key decisions in one go ahead of local body elections

Ahead of the local elections, the Maharashtra cabinet meeting approved 21 important decisions in the fields of infrastructure development and healthcare sector. The state government has made changes to policies such as Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, increasing the treatment limit for serious diseases to ₹ 10 lakh.

The cabinet headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also made some important changes in policies towards farmers, workers, healthcare workers and judicial workforce, which are of administrative and socio-economic importance.

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) will now cover more diseases and increase the wages of frontline workers involved in helping beneficiaries get Ayushman cards, the Prime Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

The statement said, “Instead of 1,356 treatments within the scope of 34 specialist services, a total of 2,399 diseases will now be treated within the scope of 38 specialist services and the beneficiaries will be provided with solutions to most of the diseases.”

The recommendations of the committee constituted to conduct a comparative study of the packages under the enhanced Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (E-MJPJAY) and PMJAY were approved by the Regulatory Council. Of the total 2399 treatments under E-MJPJAY and PMJAY, 223 treatments were approved to be reserved for government hospitals as per the approval given by the Regulatory Council.

Another decision taken in the health sector is to treat the recruitment of contract employees as a one-time special issue, without making any changes to the rules of entry into service. This means that contractual employees who complete 10 years of service under the National Health Mission will be appointed to equivalent posts within the Department of Public Health and the Department of Rural Development.

These policies are seen as a way to influence voters from different segments of society ahead of the upcoming local elections. On Tuesday, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced that elections will be held for 246 Municipal councils and 42 Nagar Panchayats on December 2 and will soon implement the code of conduct.

Other decisions taken in the meeting included tax and duty exemptions for 30,000 houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Solapur district and free land for accommodation facilities of devotees in Washim district.

Similarly, the government has approved a 4% interest subsidy on short-term bank loans to fishermen and fish farmers, reflecting Mahayuti’s move to court people in coastal districts of Maharashtra. In the judiciary department, the government has approved setting up of a District and Sessions Courts in Shirur of Pune district and Paithan of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

In terms of infrastructure and development, the Cabinet approved state guarantee for loans from HUDCO to finance the Virar-Alibag Multi-Purpose Transport Route, while the Minority Development Department approved Rs 94 crore for events hosting the 350th anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji in Nanded, Nagpur and Raigad.