Raipur, 29 June 2021 . Food and Culture Minister Amarjit Bhagat has said that the welfare of farmers and protection of their interests is the top priority of the State Government. Agriculture in Chhattisgarh has prospered in the last two and a half years under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. A new era of prosperity has come in the life of farmers. Shri Bhagat further said that procurement of paddy is the most important task in the state of Chhattisgarh. The government is continuously working to improve the system of procurement of paddy on support price, so that the farmer brothers do not face any kind of problem.
Minister Shri Bhagat reviewed the departmental work by taking a meeting of officers of Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Protection, Culture and Archaeology, Planning and Economic Statistics Department at his residence office in Raipur, Sarguja Kutir. Minister Shri Bhagat said that last year even in adverse circumstances, we successfully procured paddy on support price. Despite the shortage of gunpowder, the farmer brothers did not allow any kind of trouble.
Minister Shri Bhagat said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel, the State Government has taken several historic decisions to improve the condition of agriculture and farmers, including loan waiver, irrigation tax waiver and remunerative price for their produce. The decision has strengthened agriculture in the state. He said that it is the result of this that record procurement of 92 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was done in the last Kharif season. He also mentioned the problem of execution of surplus paddy in front of the state due to non-receipt of promised rice in the Central Pool and said that Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel accepted it as a challenge and solved it under his guidance. has been taken. In today’s situation only one lakh metric tonnes of paddy is left. Its execution will start from June 30 through auction. He said that our government is committed to protect the interests of the farmers of the state. Under no circumstances will it be allowed to fall short. He said that keeping in mind the easy arrangements for procurement of paddy in the coming Kharif marketing year, necessary arrangements, gunny bags and construction of infrastructure needs to be made in the procurement centers from now on. He directed the officers of Food and Marketing Association to jointly prepare an action plan to improve the system of paddy procurement centres.
Food Minister Shri Bhagat also made a thorough review of the PDS system and said that providing ration to destitute and poor families is a priority of the government. He instructed to make this system smart and keep a constant vigil on it. He said that the department has done remarkable work in providing ration to every needy during the Kovid period. For this, he congratulated all the officers and said that due to the efforts of all of you, no person in the state went hungry even during the difficult period of Corona epidemic. Minister Shri Bhagat said that Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel had announced to provide free food grains for the months of May and June during the second wave of Corona, which has now been extended till November 2021. He said that it is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that the eligible people get the benefits of the Chief Minister’s announcement easily. Minister Shri Bhagat also reviewed the progress of ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ in the state. He directed the officers to implement the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme at the earliest. He said that from July 1, its trial would start in Municipal Corporation Raipur and Dhamtari. The target is to implement this system in the entire state from the month of August.
Minister Shri Amarjit Bhagat also reviewed the Department of Culture and Archeology during this period. He said that the state government is serious about the Chhattisgarh film policy. The outline of Chhattisgarh Film Policy-2021 has been prepared. It will be implemented soon after approval in the Council of Ministers. He directed to expedite the process of construction of Bharat Bhawan, Manav Sangrahalaya, Archives to be built in Purkhauti Muktangan Complex, Nava Raipur. Minister Shri Bhagat instructed the officers to increase the facilities of stay, food, transportation etc. in tourist places along with conservation and promotion of historical and archaeological heritage.
Culture Minister Shri Bhagat directed the officers to prepare an action plan to organize and beautify Kaladals, Manas Mandalis along with registering the artists of the state through the ‘Chinhari Portal’. In the meeting, discussions were also held on giving pension-incentive to these artists and Manas circles. Minister Shri Bhagat also instructed the officers to preserve the extinct folk culture, musical instruments, documents.
In the meeting, Secretary, Department of Culture and Archeology, Shri Anbalagan P., Secretary, Food Department, Shri Topeshwar Verma, Special Secretary, Food Department, Shri Manoj Soni, Managing Director of Markfed, Ms. Kiran Kaushal, Managing Director of Food Civil Supplies Corporation, Shri Niranjan Das, measured Managing Director of Weighing Department Ms. Shikha Rajput, Director of Culture Department Mr. Vivek Acharya, Managing Director of Chhattisgarh Warehousing Corporation Mr. Abhinav Agarwal, Additional Managing Director Mr. Ajay Agarwal and other concerned departmental officers were present.
