Vikas Yatra 2018: Journey towards the golden future of Chhattisgarh
In a good democracy, people’s trust is the biggest power of any elected government. For maintaining public trust, continuous communication is a must. It is only through this mutual communication that governance is transformed into “Good-Governance”. In a republic, an elected government for the people, by the people and of the people cannot sit silent. For the benefit of the populace and for creating a better future for the nation and state, the government works in partnership with the people. It is the social responsibility of any democratically elected government to present the record of public money spent for the development of the state and the betterment of its people. This is a very challenging and courageous task.
Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister, Dr Raman Singh has courageously accepted the challenge of presenting the record of money spent by his government for the betterment of people before the residents of the state. He has pulled out government machinery from the Secretariat and government offices, and through different programmes, has reached out to the people of Chhattisgarh at every corner of the state, at every choupal, so that continuity in communication with the people of the state is maintained.
Every village, and town, every poor person and every farmer in the state is at the centre of this conversation between the public and the government. He had started the Gram Suraj Abhiyan in the year 2005. Under his lead- The first state which provided food security ership in 2012 the Gram Suraj, Nagar Suraj Abhiyan was also launched. In 2015, Gram Suraj and Nagar Suraj were merged to form Lok Suraj Abhiyan. The programme was an instant hit. Apart from the Lok Suraj Abhiyan under his leadership, a Vikas Yatra is also carried out after every five years. Similar Vikas Yatras were earlier carried out in 2008 and 2013, and the next one will be carried out in 2018. The first phase of this Vikas Yatra will be held from 12 May to 11 June, and the second phase from 16 August to 30 September.
The Lok Suraj Abhiyan works along the lines of the Gram Suraj Abhiyan, wherein the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary, District Collectors and other government employees, including Patwaris, go and meet the public. They hear public grievances and problems in camps and choupals. They try to solve people’s problems at the earliest. People are also told about various schemes, and the government machinery tries to make sure that they get the benefit of the scheme as per the eligibility criteria.
“Raman Ke Goth”, a monthly radio talk programme with Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh is aired every second Sunday, from AIR’s Raipur centre. It has also gained much popularity.
Gram Suraj, Nagar Suraj, and Lok Suraj Abhiyan played a key role in helping the Chief Minister to craft public welfare schemes. While interacting with the public at the public meeting and choupals, the Chief Minister got ideas about various new schemes.
According to Dr Raman Singh, in the year 2012, the Chhattisgarh government, by way of a bill presented in the state legislative assembly, came up with the country’s first food security and nutrition security law to ensure that the poor are given a right to food.
In accordance with this law, the PDS shops are giving out 7kg rice at Rs 1 per kilogram to a unit every month on one ration card.
The Chief Minister’s Child Heart Protection Scheme is also proving to be a boon for the thousands of children suffering from heart disease.
In order to help daughters from financially weaker backgrounds, more than 70,000 girls have been married in mass marriage functions under the Mukhyamantri Kanyadaan Yojana. Besides that, the Kisan Jeevan Jyoti Yojana is successfully running and providing maximum 7,500 units of electricity to farmers every year for irrigation purposes. More than 4 lakh farmers are the beneficiaries of this scheme.
Under the Saraswati Cycle Scheme, girls from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, from the OBC category, or poor girls from the general category are all being provided with free bicycles. For the development of Surguja of state-wide Vikas Yatras and Bastar regions, a sepawere carried out in the year rate tribal authority has been 2008 and 2013. Large numformed. bers of people were reached
For providing better educathrough this programme. tion to children affected by In every locality, large numNaxal violence, the Mukhyabers of farmers, labourers, mantri Baal Bhavishya Yojana students and people from all was launched, under which walks of the society meet the Prayas residential schools government machinery in were established in Jagdalpur, such Vikas Yatras. The occaAmbikapur, Bilaspur and sion is used to discuss their Durg. Under this initiative, problems in the presence of the children of 11th and 12th public representatives and standards have been receiving the common man. A blueregular education along with print for a new scheme is also free coaching for medical and prepared at the spot. engineering entrance examiI am proud of the developnations. ment of Chhattisgarh: PM
“Our work is like an open Modi book,” says Chief Minister During the Vikas Yatra Dr Raman Singh. His govern2013, the then Chief Minister ment has fulfilled the commitof Gujarat and now the Prime ments of developing the state Minister of India, Narendra and is working towards the Modi, stated, “Chief Minister betterment of its people. The of Chhattisgarh, Dr Raman belief with which the people Singh, is the first Chief Minisof Chhattisgarh had given CM ter of the country who is preDr Raman Singh the opporsenting the record of his past tunity to serve this state will five years under the hard sun not be shattered. to the public in the village. I
Schemes are created am proud to see the developthrough interaction, with ment of Chhattisgarh. Here government- public comthe Chief Minister is serving munication the public with great skill and
Dr Raman Singh says that humility. I never saw bitterone cannot accurately assess ness in his voice. I am proud the needs of the public withto say that Dr Raman Singh out an outreach programme. is my friend.” It is necessary to go among the Fourteen years of unprecpeople, and it also is the first edented development responsibility of the adminisEvaluation of any state or trative system in any democnation can be done through racy to do so. Campaigns like data. Figures show that the Gram Suraj, Nagar Suraj and progress made by ChhatLok Suraj have the same purtisgarh in the past 14 years pose. under the leadership of Dr
With the same underlying Raman Singh is unmatched. principles—i.e. to commuUnder his leadership, Chhatnicate with people—driving tisgarh became the first and different programmes under only zero power cut-off state the leadership of Chief Minisin the country in the year ter Dr Raman Singh, a couple 2008.
Electricity generation in the last 14 years has increased from 4,732MW to about 22,764MW. The number of districts increased from 16 to 27; the number of municipal corporations expanded to 10; numbers of municipalities increased from 28 to 44; Nagar Panchayats increased from 49 to 113. The number of primary schools increased from 14,000 thousand to 38,000; middle schools increased from 5,642 to 16,674; high schools from 908 to 2,643; and higher secondary schools increased from 680 to 3,898.
Meanwhile, the number of government universities increased to three, government colleges increased from 116 to 221, agricultural colleges increased to four, engineering colleges increased from 12 to 47, polytechnic institutions increased from 10 to 60 and the number of ITIs from 68 to 178.
Likewise, the number of medical colleges has gone up from two to nine. The number of ashram schools and hostels for the scheduled caste and tribal students has increased from 1,737 to 3,252. There is also encouraging growth in health facilities. The sub-health centres have gone up from 3,818 to 5,180; primary health centres from 512 to 792; and Community Health Centers from 114 to 156.
The irrigation capacity of the state, too, has increased from 26.78% to 34.20%; rural electrification jumped from 91% to 99%; and the number of electricity consumers increased from 18 lakh to 42 lakh. The per capita annual power consumption used to be 525 units, and it went up to 1,724 units. The numbers of fair price shops have increased from 8,637 to 12,298. In the year 2003, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, there was only a 1,072 kilometres long road network here. Today, Chhattisgarh’s road network is over 22,750 km.
During the same period, the length of asphalted roads increased from 27,000km to 36,000km. The average of Kharif crops increased from 45.90 lakh hectares to 47.70 lakh hectares, and the area of horticultural crops increased from 1.17 lakh hectares to 7.25 lakh hectares. In 2003, farmers used to get short-term loans at the rate of 13-14% annual interest from cooperative banks. Today they are receiving interestfree loans.