We put ₹1.75 lakh cr into a/cs of people in Chhattisgarh: Baghel
Chhattisgarh has succeeded in transferring ₹1.75 trillion to ordinary citizens since the current government took office in 2018, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Mint India Public Policy Summit, Baghel said this transfer was possible due to his government’s signature policies centred around debt relief for farmers, financial support for landless labourers and the Godhan Nyay Yojana, under which it had started buying cow dung from farmers.
These policies stimulated consumption and economic activity in the state, Baghel said. The annual income in Chhattisgarh has increased to ₹133,000 per year from ₹96,000 in 2018, he said. Increasing incomes has been a key focus for the state government, given Chhattisgarh’s alarming economic and social indicators in 2018. High rates of poverty, widespread cases of undernutrition among children under the age of five and anaemia among women were key social challenges facing the state.
As the state heads into an election this year, Baghel’s pitch to voters centres around a few key schemes. First, his government has backed loan forgiveness for farmers to the tune of ₹9,000 crore. Second, the state government has pushed agricultural support for farmers through the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana and the Bhumiheen Shramik Yojana. The latter provides ₹7,000 annually for agricultural labourers. Procurement of rice paddy at ₹2,500 a quintal has also been a key plank of Baghel’s push to increase farmer incomes.
Another key policy was the Godhan Nyay Yojana, which has seen the state government procure cow dung at the rate of ₹2 per kg.
The cow dung thus acquired is turned into vermicompost, which is then used in agricultural fields.
Baghel believes the scheme will be a game-changer for cattle-rearing, which was earlier seen as an economically unviable proposition. When questioned about the state of Chhattisgarh’s public finance, Baghel robustly defended his administration’s record.