Raipur:Hello? Chhattisgarh this side. Today is my birthday and I am going to tell you my story. On November 1, 2000, I was separated from Madhya Pradesh and made into a separate state. Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were also brought into existence by partitioning Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. While I got the gift of mineral and forest wealth in my land, the curse of Naxalism also fell into my part.
I share borders with a whopping seven states – Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Three-day celebrations will commence at the Science College ground When I was formed, Congress government was ruling Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Digvijaya Singh. After the partition, it was only fair that Congress takes leadership of me too. During that time, senior tribal leader of Congress party Ajit Jogi, an IAS officer, was elected as the first Chief Minister. Ajit Jogi ruled me for three years.
In the first assembly elections held in 2003, the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power by winning 50 out of 90 seats, which continued unabated till 2018. In the general elections held in 2018, the Congress ended the 15-year power drought by taking an unprecedented 68 seats.
During the election campaigns, Bhupesh Baghel emerged as a great leader and fighter and perhaps this was the reason that the high command made him the Chief Minister.
The origin of my name remains somewhat lost in the mists of time. It is commonly understood that it comes from a literal translation of the word ‘Chhattisgarh’ – which means 36 forts.
Political and economic pundits have always been making various predictions about me. Some say I will emerge as a leading state in the economy while some believe I will only remain an ailing state. Well, I slowly walked on the path of development.
Agriculture is an important source of income for the people living on my land and it is probably why I am known as the 'Rice Bowl of India'. Rice is the major crop in my land covering 66% of the total cropped area.
19 years of agriculture
I am basically an agrarian state. Almost 80 per cent of my people are dependent on agriculture for their source of living. During the 19 years, there has been a positive change in the conditions of farmers of my land. The increase in the yield of soybean, sugarcane and paddy and the good prices being paid by the government in return has improved the economic condition of the farmers. I am proud to tell you, the Chhattisgarh government pays the highest amount in support price for the paddy purchase.
Apart from paddy, the farmers have now turned to other crops. I am also a major producer of maize, cereals, pulses and horticulture produce such as turmeric, ginger, guava, tomato, pea and cabbage now. The figures for irrigated land have increased in the state, but still, a lot of work needs to be done in this direction.
Development in industries
In the last 19 years, I have taken a quantum leap towards industrial development. Raipur, Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh have been recognized as big industrial centres all over the country. Districts such as Janjgir and Bilaspur are also in the direction to become industrial hubs. The industrial growth brought the creation of large-scale employment in the main cities while adding to the government treasury. I have merged as a hub especially in the field of steel, cement and energy. While I have gained so much during this development journey, one of the biggest disadvantages is that the pollution levels in the major cities kept piling up.
Basic infrastructure
The governments that ruled me during the last 19 years weaved a network of roads in me. Be it the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana or the Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojana, I saw a considerable expansion in the State and National Highways. Several bridges were also constructed during these years in the state. There has been a significant increase in the number of schools and colleges as well. At the time of the formation of the state, there was only 1 medical college here and today the number has grown to 8. Institutions for Engineering and Agriculture, IIM, IIT have also been launched here.
I presently am counted under one of the few states that have surplus power. Korba district is known as the power capital of India. It is also among the few profitable states in terms of utility-based electricity.
Despite the development, in many places, even the basic facilities for drinking water, electricity, education, health and roads are still a luxury. It saddens me that my people have to go through this.
I have seen improved performance on health indicators from a decade ago, but I am still among the worst performers in the country for infant mortality, under-five mortality and the status of women.
Long way to go
I have for long been a centre of Naxal and state violence. For decades now, the state government has been involved in a brutal tussle with Maoist groups, with armed violence ensuing from both ends.
Civilians in increasingly militarised villages and districts fall prey to the anger of both sides when one mistakenly assumes them to be a member of the other. As result districts like Bastar, Bijapur, Sukma, and others, are constantly under threat.
Chhattisgarh was the largest Naxalite-affected state in 2006. Naxal attacks pain me to the core. The blood from the attack on the relief camp of Errabore and Ranibodli still haunts me. Tadmetla attack, in which 76 soldiers were martyred together and Jhiram Valley attack in which many big leaders of Congress were brutally murdered have shaken the spirits of the residents. During this, Bastar also saw the Salwa Judum movement, which was later called off after Supreme Court's order.
Elephant Menace
Environmentalists allege that the government’s indiscriminate push for mining without any concern regarding the environment has brought in a new problem in my land. Experts say till a few years ago there was no human-elephant conflict here.
Numerous villagers have lost their lives in the elephant menace over the years while the farmers suffered crop loss. At least 65 people and 14 elephants get killed in the state every year. The government does not currently have any permanent solution to this problem.
Especially the northern region of the state, Surguja and Korba are immensely affected by it. The conflicts are taking place largely due to the degrading habitats of the pachyderms. Elephants are forced to migrate to the human settlements due to the increasing mining land area in Odisha and Jharkhand along with Chhattisgarh. Wildlife experts believe that protecting large tracts of forest will help conserve the jumbos and bring down incidents of human-pachyderm conflict.
The state government’s vision and governance has made sure that my development be both sustainable as well as equitably spread over all sectors: agriculture, education, business and skill development being key among them. In 19 years, I made it to many achievements, but in numerous areas, my growth has been backwards.
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