Newly elected Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and apprised him of the steps being taken by his government to fulfil the party's poll promises, official sources said.
Deputy chief ministers Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma accompanied Sai in the meeting with Modi at his residence.
During the meeting, the chief minister apprised Modi of the steps being taken by the Chhattisgarh government to fulfil the promises made by him during the assembly elections. They also discussed the formation of the state cabinet, the sources said.
Sharing pictures of the meeting, Sai said in a post on X that he had a detailed discussion with the prime minister regarding various public welfare schemes related to development, progress and public interest of Chhattisgarh and received his guidance.
"Under the able guidance of the prime minister, the double-engine government of the BJP will definitely establish new records of service, good governance, public welfare and development in the state," the chief minister added in his post.
Sai was sworn in as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh on December 13, after the BJP returned to power in the state after a gap of five years by unseating the Congress.
Earlier in the day, Sai paid a courtesy call to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and hailed his "ideas and knowledge" of the constitutional process as "certainly effective".
"Today, held a courtesy meeting with Honourable Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at his residence in New Delhi. His excellent ideas and knowledge of the constitutional process are certainly impressive," he said in a post on X.
Dhankhar's office also posted pictures of the meeting on X after the meeting and wrote, "Hon'ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Shri Vishnu Deo Sai Ji along with Hon'ble Deputy Chief Ministers, Shri Arun Sao Ji and Shri Vijay Sharma Ji called on Hon'ble Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas today." Official sources said that during his meeting with the prime minister, Sai informed him that housing approval has been granted to over 18 lakh families in Chhattisgarh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
The Chhattisgarh government is fulfilling its commitment to purchasing 21 quintals of paddy per acre from farmers at Rs 3,100, Sai informed the prime minister.
Sai also apprised the prime ministers that the pending bonus for two years of Rs 3,716,38,96,000 will be disbursed to farmers on December 25, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee which is celebrated as National Good Governance Day.
"The chief minister said that in the supplementary budget, provision of funds has also been made for schemes like Mahtari Vandan Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Krishak Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, Social Security Pension etc," a source said.
"Within 10 days of the chief minister taking the oath of office, the state government has started implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guarantee." According to sources, the chief minister along with his deputies Sao and Sharma thanked the prime minister for releasing an additional instalment of Rs 2485.79 crore to Chhattisgarh and giving permission to take 15 lakh metric tons of parboiled rice into the central pool.
The chief minister said the funds received from the central government will enhance the state government's financial backing for social welfare and infrastructure development initiatives, they said.
"He discussed in detail various public welfare schemes aimed at promoting the development, progress, and well-being of Chhattisgarh while seeking guidance from the Prime Minister," a source added.
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