Raipur
On the second day of the monsoon session of the Assembly, Finance Minister OP Chaudhary presented a supplementary budget on Tuesday. The budget presented in the House amounts to Rs 7,329 crore, 35 lakh, 62 thousand, 700 rupees. Provisions for schools, colleges, and new buildings have been included in the budget.
Earlier in the House, Minister Arun Sao and former CM Bhupesh Baghel clashed over a question raised by Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma. Lakhma had asked about construction works in Konta and Sukma. In response, Saw stated that the Vishnudeo Sai government is committed to the development of the entire Bastar region. Hearing this, Baghel stood up and said, “You are giving good speeches. How will work get done if you leave after giving a speech? This is not the time for speeches.” Baghel added, “We have no issue with praising CM Sai, but the question is about roads. Answer that.” Saw responded that the construction of the bridge is ongoing and the road work will be completed soon. Lakhma had asked why the road and bridge construction was stopped and tenders were reissued. The minister replied that the contractor’s work was not progressing, so the tenders were reissued.
Earlier, BJP MLA Rajesh Munat raised the issue of procurement of caps and T-shirts by the Sports and Youth Department without tenders through a call attention motion. Munat demanded action against the responsible officer. In response, Sports Minister Tank Ram Verma stated that the department had not issued any tenders, work orders, or purchase orders, nor made any payments, so there is no question of action.
Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel raised the issue of the Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme in the House. He said that an advertisement for the plan to build 18 lakh houses has been released. He asked if urban housing is included in this plan. PWD Minister Arun Sao replied that urban housing is included within the 18 lakh houses. Saw added that the previous government had sent a DPR to the Centre for the construction of 19,906 houses. Baghel asked how many of these houses had been approved by the Centre. Saw responded that no new houses have been approved by the Centre yet. Baghel then said that no proposals for house construction had been sent in the last eight months. The minister replied that the criteria for house construction are based on the number of approved houses, and new proposals will be sent after the approval of the submitted proposals.
During the Zero Hour, former CM Bhupesh Baghel brought a suspension motion in the House regarding the shortage of fertilizers and seeds for farmers and electricity problems. Baghel said that farmers are facing difficulties in obtaining fertilizers and seeds. Seeds provided by the societies are being swapped. It is an issue related to farmers. Farmers are also not getting electricity. Former Minister Umesh Patel supported the suspension motion, stating that farmers in Chhattisgarh are looking to the government with hopeful eyes. In Raigarh district, there was no electricity supply for 26 hours, which is a record in this government. Minister Kedar Kashyap from the ruling party asked why this issue was not raised in the meeting with the in-charge minister. Umesh Patel replied that if he doesn’t speak in the state’s largest assembly, where else should he speak? Annoyed by the interruptions during the discussion, the opposition started sloganeering. Assembly Speaker Dr. Raman stood up to calm the situation.
Congress MLA Sangeeta Sinha highlighted the issue of fertilizers and seeds in 90% of the areas in Balod district. Sinha said that DAP fertilizers are being replaced with other types. Farmers are facing problems with both fertilizers and electricity. Therefore, this issue should be discussed in the House. The situation has reached a point where if elections were held in the state today, the Congress would form the government.
BJP MLA Dharamlal Kaushik raised the issue of major irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission. Ajay Chandrakar and Anuj Sharma, MLAs from the ruling party, also cornered their own government on various matters. MLA Anuj Sharma asked the Commerce and Industry Minister about the health check-up camps organized for workers in the industrial area of Siltara Phase-1 between 2022-2024. He inquired about the irregularities found in these camps and the health issues faced by the workers in these industries. Minister Lakhan Lal Dewangan said that health camps are organized in factories from time to time. However, some hazardous industries have not organized health camps, for which action is being taken. Sharma said that misleading information is being provided, and the investigation details are not fully uploaded. He asked what action will be taken against the guilty parties. Minister Lakhan Lal said that 6 factories have not organized health camps, and 32 factories engage in hazardous work. He requested the details of these factories to take action. The minister assured that any discrepancies or incomplete information will be investigated.
On the second day of the monsoon session, attention will be drawn to the procurement of Ready-to-Eat meals and caps and T-shirts without tenders. Fourteen petitions will also be presented. There will be voting on grant demands. Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai will present the annual report of the Chhattisgarh State Information Commission. Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma will present the annual report of the Chhattisgarh Police Housing Corporation Limited. Food Minister Dayal Das Baghel will present the 20th annual report of the Chhattisgarh State Warehousing Corporation.
Finance
Minister OP Chaudhary will present a supplementary budget of Rs 7,329 crore, 35 lakh, 62 thousand, 700 rupees to the Governor for expenditure from the state’s consolidated fund. Deputy CM Arun Saw will provide information on bridge and road construction, the Prime Minister and Chief Minister’s Village Road Scheme, illegal plotting in urban areas, Jal Jeevan Mission works, economic irregularities related to APS, water augmentation schemes, NOCs issued to coal depots in urban areas, the city bus scheme in urban areas, land acquisition and compensation for road construction, and the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Urban Housing Scheme.
