Chief Minister Raman Singh on Friday said Chhattisgarh is a State with roughly 44% of the forest cover, which has its own challenges. One cannot comprehend the development journey of Chhattisgarh only by looking at the capital city of Raipur, Durg and Bhilai. It is the positive change in the lives of even the marginalized sections of Bastar and Surguja region, which tells the tale of our journey, he said at the concluding session of the National Consultation on SDGs and Administrative Reforms jointly organised by State Planning Commission Chhattisgarh, National Foundation of India and State Administrative Reforms Commission Chhattisgarh Government, at Yojana Bhavan in Naya Raipur.
The Chhattisgarh Government is formulating and enacting the schemes to bring about positive changes in life of those standing last in the row, he said. Talking about challenges at the time of formation of the State, the Chief Minister said that Chhattisgarh Government has taken numerous measures for development in various sectors.
Singh said that to provide education facility to the children of insurgency-hit areas, the Chhattisgarh Government has started POTA cabins, Prayas residential schools, and established an education city in Dantewada, where thousands of Naxal-affected children are availing educational facilities.
As a result of the State Government’s efforts, a large number of doctors and paramedical staff are serving in Dantewada and Bijapur.
To provide healthcare facility in Naxal-affected region, the Government has appointed 26 doctors in Bijapur, 11 doctors in Sukma through Chief Minister Fellowship Programme, he said.
SIngh particularly mentioned about the major reforms initiated by the Government in the area of paddy procurement. “We have created a strong network of production, procurement and distribution of foodgrains with zero leakage. Now we are focussing on strengthening the system of minor forest produce procurement at support price,” he said.