Team News Riveting
Raipur, August 15
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced several “gifts” for the cross section of people on the occasion of 77th Independence Day.
At the main function held in the police parade ground in the state capital on Tuesday, Baghel unfurled the national flag and took the salute of an impressive parade. Later, he addressed the people of Chhattisgarh from the rampart of the police parade ground, offering many relief packages for the people. In all, the Chief Minister made 15 announcements ahead of the assembly elections as the state goes to the polls probably in November.
The Chief Minister announced to give “Chhattisgarh Sahitya Akademi Samman” to litterateurs in three categories in the state. The first category will cover the literature written in Chhattisgarhi and other dialects like Gondi, Halbi, Sargujia, Kurukh etc while the second one will cater the poetry written in Hindi. The honour in the third category will be given for prose written in Hindi, he said. In all categories, the honoured litterateurs will be felicitated with Rs 5 lakh cash and a citation.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday said the accused in cases of rape, molestation and other crimes against women and girls will be barred from government jobs in the state. “It is our top priority to ensure the safety of women, their respect and protect their dignity. We have decided that those accused of molesting girls and women, raping them and other (offences against women) will be banned from government jobs”, Baghel said.
In the state-level competition of the Chhattisgarhiya Olympics, participants securing the first position in the long jump, 100 meters sprint, and wrestling for the age group of 18 to 40 years will be acknowledged as exceptional athletes. Considering the positive outcomes of giving fish farming and lac cultivation status of agriculture, Baghel announced the to consider sericulture and beekeeping as agricultural activities in Chhattisgarh.
To incentivize poultry farming and create new employment and self-employment opportunities, the Chief Minister announced to launch the “Chhattisgarh Kukutpalan Protsahan Yojana” (Chhattisgarh Poultry Farming Incentive Scheme). Under this scheme, poultry farmers will receive electricity at concessional rates instead of subsidized and commercial rates.
In the education sector, Baghel has announced a groundbreaking initiative. He stated that students in 11th and 12th grades attending government schools in remote areas of the state will have the opportunity to receive free of cost online coaching facilities from esteemed coaching institutes across the country. This strategic move aims to enhance their readiness for competitive engineering and medical entrance examinations. To achieve this goal, online coaching classes will be organized at each block headquarters.
He stated that the government has taken a momentous decision to establish study facilities for post-graduate classes in at least one college within every district of the state. In line with this progressive initiative, he announced to include several colleges for this purpose namely Government Lochan Prasad Pandey College in Sarangarh, situated in the recently formed Sarangarh-Bilaigarh District; Dr Bhanwar Singh Porte Government College, Pendra in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi District; Kranti Kumar Bhartiya College, Sakti, located at the District Sakti Headquarters; and Government LCS collage, Ambagarh Chowki in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki District and upgrade them to postgraduate institutions. To facilitate this transition, the colleges mentioned above will receive the necessary support, including the introduction of new subjects and the establishment of a suitable post structure.
The Chief Minister emphasized the pivotal role of modern technology in building a New Chhattisgarh (Gadhbo Nava Chhattisgarh) and said that starting from the upcoming academic session, the curriculum for school children will incorporate knowledge about cutting-edge technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and the Internet of Things. This strategic move aims to equip our children with the necessary skills to embrace future technologies and position themselves as frontrunners in the global technology landscape.
Baghel announced free bus transportation for students attending government colleges, providing them with convenient travel between home and college. Highlighting Chhattisgarh’s identity and pride linked to the Chhattisgarhi language, Chief Minister Shri Baghel said, “I am pleased to announce today that commencing from the upcoming academic session, in the areas of the state where Chhattisgarhi language is spoken, Chhattisgarhi language and the local dialect in tribal areas will be included as a subject in the curriculum from class one to five.”
The Chief Minister announced to increase the honorarium of different groups. A 20 per cent has been given in the honorarium for ‘Shehri Swachta Didis’ (urban cleanliness workers), recognizing their exceptional work in maintaining cleanliness. Due to the excellent work done by them, our state has achieved the distinction of being the cleanest state in the country for three consecutive times.
Baghel has announced a 20 per cent hike in the honorarium of community organizers working in the field of urban livelihood to recognize their outstanding work. The Chief Minister announced the commencement of the “Mukhyamantri Nirman Shramik Pension Sahayata Yojana” for hardworking construction workers. Construction workers who have completed 60 years of age and have been registered for 10 years will be given lifelong monthly pensions of Rs 1500.
He made a significant announcement to hike the one-time contract salary of contract training officers who are actively engaged in industrial training institutes. The salary will be raised from Rs 25,780 to Rs 32,740 per month. Additionally, he also announced to increase the limit of maximum payment of guest lecturers from Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000 per month. Recognizing the contributions of part-time sanitation workers and mid-day meal programme cooks to the education system, the Chief Minister announced to increase their monthly honorarium by Rs 500.
