“I have my eyes fixed on the goal…. never bothered to see the milestones”-Shivraj Singh Chouhan
THE journey has been satisfactory in the sense that I have been able to contribute to the development of the state and the welfare of the citizens to the best of my capabilities. We have been successful in putting Madhya Pradesh on a new growth trajectory by setting things right in crucial areas like infrastructure development, health and education, women empowerment, law and order, good governance and agriculture, among others. As far as completion of five years in office is concerned, the length of the tenure is not important. Beyond statistics I want quality improvement in the lives of the people. I would like to quote a couplet by Bashir Badra that encapsulates my philosophy – jis din se chala hoon meri manzil pe nazar hai. Aankhon ne kabhi meel ka patthar nahin dekha (Since the day I started off my journey, I have my eyes fixed on the goal. I never bothered to see the milestones). However, a lot is yet to be accomplished.
My vision
My vision is to see Madhya Pradesh as one of the top ranking states in the category of developed states. My top priority is to ensure 24-hour electricity supply to all sectors and eight-hour three phase supply to the agriculture sector by January 2013. To achieve this we have undertaken an ambitious feeder separation programme for separate power supply for farm and domestic sectors.
Main challenges
Challenges are many and our priority is to emerge out of these challenges. The main challenges are to develop world class infrastructure to facilitate rapid industralisation, to bring the people of the Schedule Castes and the Schedule Tribes on a better footing and to completely eliminate feudal tendencies that still exist in some areas that are struck in a time warp.
No discrimination
I consider people of all communities, castes and creeds are equal citizens of the country and we never discriminate against anyone. I maintain a live dialogue with heads and prominent persons of all the communities and interact with them from time to time. We organise Roza Iftar during Ramzan, Guru Parva on the birth anniversary of Gurunanakji, Kshmavani Parva during the Jain festival to show our respect for all the religions. This has helped us sustain the composite culture in the state.
State, now preferred destination
I am not one given to resting on laurels. Madhya Pradesh has emerged as a preferred investment destination in the country. This is brought out by the fact that at the recent Global Investors’ Summit at Khajuraho, MoUs worth over Rs. 2,35,000 crore were inked. The response of the prospective investors was quite positive.
Welfare of Tribals
Despite the creation of Chhattisgarh state Madhya Pradesh still has 20 per cent tribal population. The state has led in conferring rights papers on the forest dwellers for their forest lands. We have withdrawn thousands of cases pertaining to minor forest offences and returned the household belongings of the tribals which were seized. The focus is on proper implementation of practical schemes.
Personal strength
I believe that Yoga and Auyrveda are keys to a healthy and active life. My day begins before dawn with Suryanamaskar, Pranayam and meditation. This help me work tirelessly for 19-20 hours a day. My favourite pastime is to watch sporting events, especially hockey matches. I also love watching Hindi movies with the family whenever I can, listening to ghazals and bhajans and reading books on various subjects.
