How Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel Is Leading India In Good Governance

*This is in partnership with BloombergQuint Brand Studio

Governments often boast about good governance in today’s welfare conscious environment. We look at how Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s Chhattisgarh government is faring on the parameters of good governance.

When we consider the achievements of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s successful government in Chhattisgarh, one thing that stands out is two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Chief Minister took office three years ago, in December 2018. Like the world, two years of Covid-19 has affected Chhattisgarh and its economy too, but despite the massive challenge of a global pandemic, Bhupesh Baghel’s government has done exceedingly well on many parameters, especially in governance.

Chhattisgarh’s empowerment model

Even during this time of economies reeling under slowdowns and contractions, Chhattisgarh is rapidly making up for all the setbacks and pains of reoccurring pandemic lockdowns and shutdowns. The Chief Minister’s focus on his Chhattisgarh model of empowerment seems to have made a positive economic impact on the state’s people. As reflected in the people’s mood (in some recent surveys) and the pace with which businesses are getting back on track, what works in favour of Chief Minister Baghel is that he prioritised the rural support needed at the peak of Covid.

But state support has not been limited to just the rural areas; an excellent example of the Chief Minister’s understanding of the financial stress faced by the middle class, both urban and rural, can be seen in cutting down electricity bills by half. With a 50 percent subsidy on up to 400 units of electricity, about 4 million consumers have benefitted.

Chhattisgarh’s industry is stronger than ever

The new industrial policy of the state government has created a positive atmosphere, again this is despite significant hurdles created by the pandemic. The state has seen 1,564 new industrial units established in the last three years, and 30,000 new jobs have been created. This has happened because the state has received a whopping Rs 18,882 crore in investments.

Currently, 13 MoUs have been signed for organising the state’s bold industrial mission of bio ethanol plants, through which capital funding of about Rs 2,202 crore is proposed. This would create more employment opportunities in ethanol, food, pharmaceutical, electronics, defence, and the photovoltaic sector.

With 132 MoUs signed between January 1, 2019, to August 6, 2021, capital funding of Rs 58,950 crore is proposed, which will provide jobs to another 78,000 people.

With the Industrial Policy 2019-24, the government of Chhattisgarh is focused on a business-friendly ecosystem. So far, Chief Minister Baghel’s focus on self-employment and job generation has yielded good results. What’s more important is that with high investment pouring into the state, the future looks even better on the employment front.

Affordable Medicines Saves Lives

Healthcare is very important for a workforce and students and families. The state government has given much-needed relief from constantly rising pharma prices by providing quality medicines to the people at low prices. Shri Dhanvantari Medical Stores have successfully replaced expensive branded medicines with more affordable generic medicines. The generic ones cost considerably less, as average savings on generic medicines as compared to branded ones can be as up as 50-70 percent.

Organic farming is a path to prosperity

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyaya Yojana and Godhan Nyaya Yojana, designed to bring prosperity to millions of rural households, is now yielding results. The village life is seeing a positive turnaround, and farmers are returning to organic farming. Organic farming has reduced the cost of agriculture and helped increase the yield. These two schemes have enabled the government to transfer benefits directly to farmers. The cash transfer schemes have helped strengthen the state’s economy.

Supporting the tribes

In the area of forest produce collection, Chhattisgarh has been the number one state in the country in the last three years. While the state has a sizeable forest-dependent community, efforts to financially strengthen the tribal population has worked well. Improvement in the financial condition of tribes is evident. The state has also received 11 awards in forest produce collection and processing.

Millet Mission & record yield procurement

The millet mission has been one of the favourite schemes of Chief Minister Baghel, and it has had a strong impact among farmers. The minimum support price (MSP_ offered on the yields of Kodo-Kutki and Raagi has farmers hopeful for better earnings for their produce.

In 2020-21, Chhattisgarh procured a record amount of rice—more than 92 metric tons. Chhattisgarh also received the Krishi Karnan award for maximum foodgrain production.

Wholistic approach for rural economy

The state schemes to create financially independent rural households was created with a holistic approach to micro development. The schemes have been designed to create a full circle of economic activity starting from; loans for domestic animals or product-based businesses, creating village-based ecosystems of using cow-dung as organic fertiliser, developing kitchen gardens for all rural households, and government support for access to markets. Bap uke Suraj Gaon or the model villages based on Gandhiji’s swaraj model effectively bring a holistic change in the villages. In fact, these villages are just the kind of attraction that any tourist will also love to see.

But how do you judge the pride and self-respect of the marginalised tribal population? It can be measured if they do not remain marginalised and get included in mainstream economic activity. In these tricky times, this is an excellent scale to measure the governance standards of a state. So, the most significant achievement of Bhupesh Baghel government’s good governance has been that his three years of schemes has given the tribal population a strong sense of that pride and self-respect by creating financially strong rural families.