Ranchi: The state cabinet meeting, chaired by chief minister Hemant Soren, on Tuesday approved the development of 100 more CM Schools of Excellence at a cost of Rs 721.43 crore, expanding the programme beyond the 80 institutions being upgraded across Jharkhand.The cabinet also cleared nearly Rs 50 crore to establish girls’ residential schools in five newly created blocks.Cabinet coordination department secretary Vandana Dadel said Rs 73.66 crore was sanctioned under the Gyanodaya scheme to provide bilingual parental calendars for primary school students. Another Rs 27.87 crore was approved for student diaries for classes VI to VIII in govt and aided schools.The cabinet sanctioned Rs 124.38 crore to provide girls in classes VI to XII at govt schools with up to 10 free oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins a month. It also approved the Jharkhand Student Research and Innovation Policy, 2026, and amendments to the Guruji Student Credit Card scheme.In the health sector, Rs 393.91 crore was cleared for strengthening MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur, and Rs 495.03 crore for expanding Shaheed Nirmal Mahato Medical College, Dhanbad, including increasing MBBS and postgraduate seats. A separate Rs 275.18-crore project was approved for the redevelopment of SNMMCH and its teaching hospital. The retirement age of non-teaching doctors and specialists was reduced from 67 to 65 years.Several road projects were approved across West Singhbhum, Chatra, Ramgarh and Giridih, including the Rs 114.01-crore Pindi-Giru-Gudri road and the Rs 56.85-crore Barlanga-Gola-Muri road.The cabinet also cleared Rs 67.36 crore for the Mouhrada phase-II water supply scheme in Jamshedpur, Rs 90 crore for installing 9,006 CCTV cameras at 606 police stations, and Rs 184.29 crore for beautifying Topchanchi lake in Dhanbad under the public-private partnership model.Other decisions included two legal bills, land transfer to SAIL for Tasra project rehabilitation, and strengthening the finance department’s project monitoring unit.
