Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament House in New Delhi on Sunday. Chouhan apprised the Prime Minister about the 'Namami Devi Narmade' Yatra being organised in the State on the lines of Namami Gange. He informed him that the yatra will begin from Amarkantak on December 11 and will culminate in May 4, 2017. Chouhan invited Modi to the concluding programme of the yatra.
Chouhan informed that he himself will take part in the yatra once a week. The main objective of the yatra is to prevent degradation of the environment to generate awareness about it and to keep Narmada water pure, develop suitable environment surrounding the river. Chouhan also extended gratitude towards Modi for issuing Central share of `2,000 crore towards the crop Insurance scheme.
Chouhan further informed that the water level is dropping and Narmada did not get water from any glacier. Narmada gets water mainly from rainfall, mountains and trees. As per the scheme, plants will be planted at both the banks of Narmada, sanitation will be kept and flow of sewage water into the river will be stopped. A wide public awareness campaign will be conducted for this during the yatra. A swachcha Bharat abhiyan is being organized as per the perception of the Prime Minister.
Chouhan termed the Prime Minister as 'Yug-Purush' and thanked him for his remarkable decision to monetise banknotes. He said that this step is an extraordinary one taken for the welfare of India. This step will eradicate corruption, terrorism and black money.
Meets Union Minister for Finance Chouhan also met Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley. Chouhan expressed gratitude for release of `17,00 crore installment of State share from Central taxes. He urged Jaitley for the release of the remaining amount at the earliest. It may be mentioned that the State share is around Rs 3,000 crore in the Central taxes.
Chouhan also met Union Minister for Home Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar during his New Delhi visit. Chouhan also met ailing Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and prayed for her speedy recovery. He also called on Rajya Sabha member Prabhat Jha and the State's Minister of State for Water Resources Harsh Singh and prayed for his speedy recovery.