PRAGATI Platform Marks 50th Meeting, Boosting Pro-Active Governance

Prime Minister’s flagship platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, PRAGATI, has marked a significant milestone with the successful conduct of its 50th meeting. Since its launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, PRAGATI has transformed governance by enabling real-time monitoring and resolution of key infrastructure projects and public grievances through direct Prime Ministerial review. The platform exemplifies cooperative federalism, bringing together the Centre, States, and Union Ministries on a single digital interface. Over a decade, PRAGATI has helped accelerate decision-making, resolution of issues causing delay in key infrastructure projects, and instilled a strong culture of accountability. Today, in this special series, we take a look at the Jabalpur-Gondia Gauge Conversion project of Ministry of Railways.

The Jabalpur-Gondia Gauge Conversion project covers around 285 km. It was approved at a cost of around 1,991 crore rupees to strengthen rail capacity and operational flexibility in the central part of the country. The project involved conversion of the existing narrow-gauge alignment, including the Balaghat-Katangi section, into broad gauge, thereby creating an alternate route to several saturated rail corridors. Traversing Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the corridor serves districts with significant agricultural output, forest-based activity and mineral movement.  The project encountered persistent environmental and coordination-related challenges. In March 2016, the project was taken up under the PRAGATI mechanism. The review reinforced the importance of time-bound forest clearances, expeditious land transfer by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, and close coordination between the Ministries of Railways, Road Transport and Highways, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The elevation of the project under PRAGATI also strengthened inter-departmental accountability, aligning forest, revenue and line departments around shared timelines linked directly to execution requirements. With environmental and land-related impediments resolved, works progressed across remaining sections, culminating in full commissioning of the Jabalpur-Gondia broad-gauge corridor in March 2021. It achieved 100 percent physical progress and delivering the intended operational benefits of an alternate rail route. The Jabalpur-Gondia Gauge Conversion illustrates how environmentally sensitive rail infrastructure can be delivered through coordinated governance and sustained administrative engagement. The resolution of forest and land-related challenges-undertaken with due regard to statutory safeguards, compensatory afforestation and environmental compliance, was enabled by structured oversight under the PRAGATI framework and consistent follow-through at the State and district levels.