Include Chhattisgarh in Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan: CM Baghel

Raipur, June 21

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, on Sunday, demanded that the Centre included districts of the state under the recently launched ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’, an employment-cum-rural public works campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said neighbouring states namely Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha had been included in the campaign while Chhattisgarh had been excluded despite having geographical, economical and social similarities with these states, a public relation department official said.

The scheme was launched on June 20 in 116 districts of six states, namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha, to provide livelihood opportunities to migrant workers.

Migrant workers who had returned to Chhattisgarh will get employment opportunities according to their interest and skills if the state would be made part of the scheme, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said in the letter.

The entire nation was bearing the brunt of COVID-19 pandemic and labourers were the most affected due to the crisis, and, so far, over five lakh migrant labourers had returned to Chhattisgarh, he said.

The Chief Minister said about three-fourths of the state was extremely backward and covered with forests, and about 80 per cent of the population was from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes communities.

“About 90 per cent of the state’s population depends on agriculture and labour, and there was a sense of despair among the poor, agricultural labourers, migrant workers and marginal farmers as the state has not been covered under the scheme,” Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. PTI