Laadli Lakshmi Yojana
To promote the cause of girl children, the MP Government has launched a unique scheme called Laadli Laxmi Yojana. Under the scheme, upon fulfillment of certain conditions like two children per family (whether boys or girls) and non income-tax payee parents, a girl is entitled to staggered payment of funds right from class VI to promote her education. Under the scheme, the Government buys National Savings Certificates (NSCs) worth Rs. 6000 every year in the name of the girl beneficiary for a period of five years. She gets Rs. 2000 upon admission to class VI, Rs. 4000 upon admission to class IX and Rs. 7500 upon admission to class XI. For two years upon being admitted to class XI (i.e up to completion of class XII), she gets Rs. 200 per month. Then, she is entitled to get a lump-sum amount of Rs. one lakh at the age of 21 provided she has taken the class XII exam and if she had not been married before the age of 18.
Kanyadaan Yojana
Chief Minister Shri Shrivaj Singh Chouhan had taken it upon himself since his early days in politics to marry off girls from poor families from his own efforts. He did this for years as Lok Sabha MP from Vidisha constituency. On becoming the CM of Madhya Pradesh in 2005, he extended it as a welfare scheme of the State Government. Under the scheme, a girl from a poor family belonging to any caste is entitled to Rs. 7500 in cash and gifts from the Government in a mass marriage function organised by the State Government. This not only eases the burden of marriage of a girl on the parents but also ensures that under-age marriages are not held.
Janani Suraksha Yojana
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched a scheme for safe delivery. Under the Janani Suraksha Yojana, the State Government provides all economic and health support to a pregnant woman till the time of delivery. Not only that, the Government ensures free transport of pregnant women in labour to the hospitals as well as nutrition supplements after the institutional delivery of the child. Since its launch in May 2007, some 60,000 children have benefited from the Ladli Lakshmi Yojna, 81,000 have benefited from the Kanyadhan Yojna, and over 25 lakh people from the Janani Suraksha Yojna.
Effective E-Governance: Samadhan Online Programme
At the initiative of the Chief Minister Shri Chouhan, the concept of suraj has been implemented in the state. To facilitate prompt redressal of public grievance a Samadhan Online Programme has been launched. Under this, the Chief Minister reviews online the status of complaints from public with District Collectors through teleconferencing between l0 am and 12 noon on the first Tuesday of every month. The initiative has been successful which is borne out by the fact that in year 2005 a total of 13 thousand 132 complaints were redressed from January to April while during the corresponding period this year 36 thousand 122 complaints have been resolved. As part of the efforts to ensure e-governance the state government has maximised the use of IT in governance and administration. For regular monitoring of the works being done by different departments a monitoring system has been put in place. The Chief Minister reviews daily the work on the basis of information available on the website. Madhya Pradesh leads the country in starting the Cyber Treasury. Land records of all the districts are available online. The Rural Road Authority is making the payment to contractors online. Local Area Network is functioning in the Mantralaya. For the first time in India the clippings of over 100 newspapers are available on website.
Industrial Policy
Barely three years ago the industrialists were averse to investing in Madhya Pradesh, mainly, due to the absence of proper infrastructure during 1992 and 2003. The state government has launched an Industrial Promotion Policy and Action Plan offering a slew of sops to small-scale, medium and large-scale industries. As a result investment proposals started pouring in. Now approximately Rs. 1.20 lakh thousand crore proposals are either under consideration or are at execution stage. A number of companies have proposed to create Information Technology Parks, sector specific special economic zone and product specific special economic zones in Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Minister said that 50 per cent employment in the industries being set up in the state would be ensured for the local citizens.
Farmers
Son of a farmer himself, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken steps to make agriculture a profitable business. As a result, the present system of giving bonus at the time of purchase of wheat and rice would continue. Agriculture loan is given at the rate of 3 per cent interest only. Cultivation of vegetables, fruits, flowers and medicinal plants is being encouraged to improve income of farmers. At the same time setting up of food processing units are being encouraged. For the purpose of storing food grains warehouses in large numbers are being constructed. Soil health card would be given to each farmer. Working of Mandis is being strengthened. Using of agriculture land for non-agriculture purposes is being discouraged. Cattle rearing and dairy industry would be encouraged to ensure prosperity in villages. According to an estimate, the CM says, the state can produce fish to the extent of Rs 10 thousand crore. The fishermen will be given loan at the rate of 3 per cent interest, the same as farmers.
Jan Sunwai
To make the State administration more people-friendly, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched a Jan Sunwai programme from the hub of the State Administration, Mantralaya in Bhopal, right down to the lowest level field offices. Under the programme, the government officials are available every Tuesday to take complaints and applications from the people and redress their grievances as quickly as possible. This has set off a chain reaction in which every government department and office is obliged to hear out people and settle their problems on the spot if possible.
