RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh cabinet on Friday approved a slew of transformative proposals, with the most ambitious being the establishment of a State Capital Region authority (SCRA), modelled on the lines of Delhi’s NCR.

The proposed authority aims to manage the rapid urban growth across Raipur, Durg-Bhilai, and Nava Raipur Atal Nagar by ensuring systematic, sustainable, and planned development. The cabinet was chaired by chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai at Secretariat in Nava Raipur and given projections that the region will house nearly five million people by 2031, the cabinet underscored the need for efficient land use and environmental protection. A govt statement said that SCRA will focus on urban planning, infrastructure investment, inter-agency coordination, and controlling unregulated urban sprawl. It is set to become a key driver of smart, balanced urbanization in Chhattisgarh. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai stated that the cabinet decisions represent a forward-looking vision for Chhattisgarh, blending urban modernization with inclusive development.

From capital region planning and tribal empowerment to youth innovation and public service reform, the initiatives reflect a comprehensive roadmap for a progressive and equitable future. Among other key decisions, the cabinet approved the creation of 30 ex-cadre posts to promote State Police Service officers of the 2005 to 2009 batches to the senior pay scale. This move is intended to streamline service progression and improve administrative efficiency within the state police force, officials said. The cabinet also sanctioned a non-profit joint venture between the Chhattisgarh Government and PanIIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation. The joint venture will focus on skill-building, vocational education, and rural entrepreneurship for tribal youth, women, and the transgender community. Leveraging unused funds from Tribal and Scheduled Caste Sub-Plans, this venture will offer job-ready training, including foreign language skills, with training centers established in repurposed government buildings identified by district authorities. On the transport front, amendments to the Chhattisgarh Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1991, and Motor Vehicle Rules, 1994, were approved to allow vehicle owners to transfer fancy registration numbers to new or relocated vehicles for a prescribed fee. Government vehicles will be exempt from these charges. This is part of the broader strategy to reduce road accidents and vehicular pollution by phasing out older vehicles. To improve the quality of private higher education, the cabinet cleared the Chhattisgarh Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2025, while also advancing the state's innovation ecosystem through the approval of a new Student Startup and Innovation Policy. The policy aims to reach 50,000 students across 100 technical institutes, support 500 prototypes, file 500 intellectual property rights, and incubate 150 startups, with special attention to tribal regions and priority sectors like agriculture, clean energy, health, and manufacturing. To align with the Union’s financial regulations and enhance GST mechanisms, the cabinet approved the Chhattisgarh GST (Amendment) Bill, 2025, making inter-state transactions more seamless and strengthening the input service distribution system. Land governance will also see improvements following the approval of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The revised code will facilitate faster land partition, curb illegal plotting, enable digital mapping (geo-referencing), and simplify processes for inheritance-related name transfers.

These changes are expected to reduce legal disputes and support smoother implementation of industrial, housing, and urban development policies. Besides, the cabinet approved amendments to the Kushabhau Thakre University of Journalism and Mass Communication Act, 2004, aimed at reforming the structure and academic functioning of the institution, in line with contemporary medi

a education needs.