The Hindu : Other States / Chattisgarh News : Raman Singh wants to begin with infrastructure

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Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004

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Raman Singh wants to begin with infrastructure

By Lalit Shastri

RAIPUR, NOV. 2. The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh, wants to put the State on the fast track of development, pursuing an agenda of progress with a human face.

In an exclusive interview with The Hindu , he said the biggest challenge being faced by his 10-month-old Government is to build the infrastructure for growth. The basic infrastructure has remained weak in the State, he pointed out.

Dr. Singh said Chhattisgarh had adequate power generation capacity but for a State determined to progress fast and catch up with rest of the world on the development front, there was no room for complacency. "When Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, we got only 10 per cent of the transmission lines while the rest went to Madhya Pradesh. Even on the roads and agriculture front, there have been discrepancies," he pointed out.

The Chief Minister said the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board is setting up two power plants of 500 MW each at a cost of Rs. 3200 crores at Korba. Hydro projects are also being set up on river channels. The private sector is also being given special concessions on the power generation front to substantially increase the power generation capacity in the State.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (Prime Minister's Rural Road Scheme), Dr. Singh said that approval had been granted for construction of 6500 kilometres roads at a cost of Rs. 1,191 crores. Besides, he said construction of 3,106-kilometre long North-South and East-West corridor roads is also in progress.

Dr. Singh said agricultural loans worth Rs. 118 crores for 6 lakh small and minor farmers have been waived by his Government. He said that the Chhattisgarh Government has also reduced the interest rate on agriculture loans of State Cooperative and District Cooperative Banks by two percent. Now the interest being paid by the farmers on the cooperative loans is 9 per cent, he said, adding that this is the lowest rate of interest on this category of loan in the country.

He said that the State Government was concentrating its efforts on minor irrigation projects. He said 179 minor irrigation projects would be completed during this financial year. Completion of these projects would provide irrigation facilities in 77,000 hectare land, he added. Dr. Singh said the Bastar and Sarguja Development Authorities, being headed by him, have been formed to ensure overall development of the tribal areas. Both these authorities have decided to provide iodised salt to 25 lakh tribal families for just 25 paise per kilogram.

Under the Annapurna Dal-Bhat Yojana, Dr. Singh said, fresh meals are being provided to the weaker sections for just Rs. 5. This scheme is being implemented in all the 146 block headquarters in the State.

The Chief Minister said his Government had inherited the legacy of bogus universities that were registered by the previous Congress-led Government throwing all norms to the winds. Overnight, 128 universities were granted registration in the State, he said, pointing out that some of these were operating from a single room or even garages. These universities have played havoc with the lives of thousands of students as they had given admissions to students for medical courses in colleges lacking the mandatory recognition from the Indian Medical Council.

Major steps have now been taken to streamline the education system, he said, adding that the Act has been amended to ensure that universities get registered in the State under the norms fixed by the University Grants Commission.

Dr. Singh said that his Government was also laying special emphasis on e-education and e-governance. Last Friday, he inaugurated the first e-classroom facility in the country at the engineering college in the State Capital.

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