Chief Minister Raman Singh made a host of important announcements on Thursday in his message to the people of the State on the occasion of Republic Day here.
In his address delivered at Bastar’s district headquarters Jagdalpur as chief guest, Singh said that Chief Minister Medical Fellowship Scheme will be launched for the specialists and general doctors, who contribute in nation building by rendering services in remote areas.
Alongside, Chief Minister Good Governance Fellowship Scheme will be initiated to tap the innovative thoughts and ideas of young talent in formulation of district and state-level policies and for making administration more effective, he said.
Singh said that honorarium of the freedom fighters, who have made invaluable contribution in the freedom movement of India, will be increased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 .Besides, honorarium of the MISA prisoners, who came to the rescue of democracy during emergency, will be increased by 50-66 per cent, he said.
The Chief Minister also announced hike in wages of forest dweller families, engaged in tendupatta collection work, from Rs 1500 to Rs 1800 per standard bag. He said that in forest areas, wages for tendupatta collection is the main source of income for our tribal people. Earlier we had increased this wage from Rs 350 to Rs 1500 per standard bag.
In another major step for welfare of tendupatta collectors, State Government has increased the wages from Rs 1500 to Rs 1800 per standard sack.
Singh commemorated the sacrifices and contribution of freedom fighters and creators of Constitution, saying that India is progressing on the path of success because of the strong foundation built on the sacrifices of these great personas.
The Chief Minister also viewed the tableau exhibition and cultural programme staged by school students.
Singh said the paddy procurement system in the State is being continuously improved.
He said that credit cards have been issued to 22 lakh farmers of the State and soon Ru-pay cards will also be issued to 10 lakh of these farmers. ATMs have been installed in cooperative banks and account holders of these banks have been issued Ru-Pay debit card.
The State Government is making consistent efforts in the direction. With upgrading of 14 government colleges into post graduation colleges, now every district has at least one post graduation college, Singh said.
In addition, number of seats in 48 Government colleges has been increased by 11,000 so as to provide better opportunities of higher education to youngsters. Online admission in colleges has improved the transparency of the system, he said.
Mentioning about the public awareness created as a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Clean India Mission, Singh said that my belief has gone stronger that we will make Chhattisgarh Open Defecation Free (ODF) State by October 2, 2018.
Two districts, 41 development blocks, more than 5300 Gram Panchayats, 4900 villages and five cities being declared as ODF is a great achievement for the State, he said.
The Chief Minister thanked people of these areas and the NGOs working there for their contribution and participation.
Chief Minister said : “I feel proud to see that Chhattisgarh has become a model State in the country in terms of initiating and effectively implementing the public welfare schemes. In this way, we have made an important contribution in the direction of strengthen Republic of India through empowerment of public.”
I believe that with cooperation and support of public, we will make many new achievements in the direction of making Chhattisgarh a prosperous and harmonious State, he said.
The Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the revenue share of states from 32 to 42 per cent and has also authorised the States to use these revenues as per their requirement.
The Prime Minister has not only completed and issued the long pending mineral policy but has also given the interests of the states its due importance, he said.
Singh said “ I am happy that Chhattisgarh has succeeded in auctioning the limestone and gold mines first in the country, which has enhanced the financial resources of the State. The Government has made the provision to utilise the entire amount of District Mineral Fund (DMF) for the development of mining-affected districts. Action plan worth Rs 2400 crores has been approved in various districts, which has resulted in development of various facilities in mining affected areas.”
Singh that the State Government has set the target to provide cashless payment facility in public distribution system in five districts of the State by March 31 and in other districts in phased manner.
The POS machines have been made VAT free to encourage the traders to opt for cashless modes of payments. Nearly 9,000 common service centres at panchayat level are being equipped with necessary infrastructure so that they may provide Aadhaar-based payment facility and bank services in areas without bank.oSingh said “ To make agriculture a more profitable occupation, the State Government has made purchase of Harvestor free from motor vehicle tax. The number of farmers availing interest free agriculture loan has reached 10 lakh and the target of loan distribution has been elevated to Rs 3400 crore. “A roadmap has been formulated under which year-wise targets have been set to double the income of farmers. Fourth sugar factory of the State has been established in record time of 10 months, with the support of cooperative sector, he said.The Chief Minister said “Providing all the facilities and rights to mothers, sisters and daughters to make them self-dependent is our priority. Vazan Teohar, Mahtari Jatan, Mukhyamantri Amrit Yojana, Nava Jatan, Amrit salt, peas distribution and lentils distribution and other schemes have successfully resulted in reducing level of malnutrition from 52 per cent to 30 per cent.”
Our next target is to further reduce malnutrition to 25 per cent, so that in next three years the State can be made malnutrition-free, he said.
To reduce Infant and Maternal Mortality Rate (IMR-MMR), Prime Minister Safe Maternity Campaign has been started in Chhattisgarh, under which pregnant women will be examined on 9th of every month with the help of government and private doctors and arrangements will be made to ensure safe delivery, Singh said.New Government Medical College has been established in Surguja, with which the dream of having government medical colleges in all four directions Jagdalpur, Raigarh, Sarguja, Rajnandgaon has come true. Moreover, two new private medical colleges have also been established in the State, adding which the total number of medical colleges in state has reached 10, he said.
Chief Minister said: “To improve quality of school education in the State, the Government has decided to hold 5th to 8th standard board examinations. The campaign of starting professional education course from middle school has reached 391 schools of state, wherein nearly 29,000 students have taken up professional education."
Every year nearly one lakh youth are being provided skill development training, making a significant contribution towards making of Skilled India. The State Government has decided to provide 30 per cent reservation to women and relaxation of 10 years in upper age-limit on all the posts of direct recruitment in Government services. The Government has also decided to extend the validity of 5 year relaxation on age-limit of 30 years to education unemployed local residents on direct recruitment for two years, he said.
In the coming two years, the State government will construct 10,000 kms of roads. Construction of new rail route of 1300 kms is already in progress. Goal of 100% electrification will be achieved in the State soon, the Chief Minister said.
Apart from power production, we are making huge investments on transmission and distribution to ensure 24x7 uninterrupted electricity supply. A total of 51,000 solar pumps are being installed under Saur Sujala Yojana to supply electricity to villages where conventional distribution of electricity is difficult. Moreover, telecommunication infrastructure is also being developed so as to make significant contribution in making of 'Digital India, he said.