Chief Minister Raman Singh on Sunday night expressed surprise that people who are well-off farmers also do not have toilets at their homes in many of the villages in Surguja district. The wealthy farmers have concrete houses, tractors, motor-cycles, television sets and other modern amenities in the district.
He was addressing the review meeting of Surguja and Jashpur districts at district headquarters Ambikapur. He said that wealthy citizens can build toilets in their residences. Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Clean India Mission’ is carried on with the co-operation of urban bodies and panchayats in all parts of Chhattisgarh. The concerned officers should carry on the campaign to its logical conclusion of constructing cent per cent toilets in all the rural areas of the State.
He directed the District Collectors to complete the construction of toilets in all the schools before the start of next academic year. The list of those whose toilets are being built should be provided to the Member of Parliament and MlA also. Singh said toilets should be built on the premises of Anganwadis also.
He called upon the concerned officers to prepare a blueprint for developing Mainpat and Ramgarh as tourist spots as early as possible. Afforestation will be carried on at Mainpat and Ramgarh. Mainpat is called as Shimla of Chhattisgarh. While Ramgarh is known for the land of poet Kalidas who wrote ‘Meghdhoot’- a great epic, the Chief Minister said.
Singh called upon the officers to plant fruit-bearing trees and bamboo shoots in other parts of Surguja and Jashpur. He stressed upon the planting of mangoes, Sapota (Cheeku), Jack fruit trees and said that at least five saplings of papaya, mango and banana should be planted on the premises of schools and Anganwadis where there are boundary walls.
Singh asked the Public Health Engineering Department and urban body officers to maintain hand-pumps in working condition and ‘Nal-Jal’ yojanas to provide drinking water to the masses. The Chief Minister also stressed upon the need to maintain quality in Mid-Day Meals provided to school children.
leader of Opposition in Chhattisgarh Assembly TS Singhdeo, Surguja lok Sabha MP Kamalbhan Singh, Sitapur MlA Amarjeet Bhagat, lundra MlA Chintamani Maharaj, Jashpur MlA Rajsharan Bhagat, Surguja Zilla Panchayat President Phooleshwari Singh, Ambikapur Nagar Nigam Mayor Dr Ajay Thirky, Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand, Surguja District Collector Ritu Sen, Jashpur Collector Himshekhar Gupta, Joint Secretary to Chief Minister Rajat Kumar and a number of senior officers were present at the meeting.