Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan comes out after appearing in the District Court in connect... Read More

INDORE: Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the roadmap for fourth term is ready and the major focus in the next term will be on increasing the per capita income.

Chouhan said, “From a sick state, Madhya Pradesh has become a developing state under our government and now it will move in the direction of becoming a prosperous state. Our focus in the fourth term will be to increase the income of common people and farmers.”

"Under the Congress rule, the per capita income was Rs 13,000, which has increased to Rs 79,000. Even now, this is below the average and our aim is to increase it much higher," He said.

Chouhan said sectors such as health and education requires a lot of attention and a lot of work need to be done in these areas.

“We increased the salary of teachers to Rs 61,000 per month, but a lot of initiatives need to be taken for the development in this sector,” said Chouhan.

He said rural areas lack doctors and to address this problem the government is constructing seven new medical colleges in the state.

The state government plans to build medical colleges in datia, Ratlam, Vidisha, Khandwa, Shahdol, Chhindwara and Shivpuri. It also has plans to build medical colleges in Satna , Chhattarpur and Shivni. “More number of doctors will come from the new medical colleges and this will ensure better medical facilities in the rural areas,” said Chouhan.

Speaking on increasing pollution in Narmada river, Chouhan said, “Dirty water from around 20 villages on the banks of Narmada mixes into the river. To address the issue, sewage treatment plant is being built to treat the water.”

Chouhan said, the treated water will not be released into the river and shall be routed for farming purpose. Responding on the allegation of towering loans on the state government, Chouhan said “We get money because our financial planning is good and the state is developing. It’s an ideal arrangement to take loan for the growth of the state.”

The chief minister said the state underwent phase-wise development under the Bharatiya Janata Party government. In the first phase, the government focused on improving the roads, power connectivity and water scarcity issues, while in the second phase the foundation for a developed state was build.

“Irrigated area surged to 40 lakh hectares from 7.5 lakh hectares earlier. New roads were built on 1.5 lakh kilometre. We brought 24 hour regular and surplus electricity in the state,” said Chouhan.

He said the agriculture growth rate is about 20 per cent in the state for past few years and this is its great achievement.

Speaking on increasing crime against women, Chouhan said “This is very unfortunate. We have passed a law to award death penalty for guilty of minor rape. I have also written a letter to Chief Justice requesting him to expedite hearing of such cases so that the guilty can be punished early.”

