Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday took on his detractors from the main Opposition Congress on the issue of illegal mining. He said in definite terms that no mining mafia has been allowed to raise its head and operate under his regime in the state.
Mr Chouhan made this assertion while talking exclusively to this newspaper here on Sunday morning. He said that the BJP came to power in Madhya Pradesh in 2003 after the Congress party had been voted out by people since it had neglected the economic infrastructure.
Mr Chouhan said that the people of the state had suffered for a very long time due to tardy pace of development and very little headway in the road and power sectors. When the BJP came to power in the state, the farmers were particularly disgruntled and angry due to the poor condition of roads, which are crucial for transporting the farm produce to the “mandis” or the wholesale markets, he said adding that no concrete action was taken during the ‘90s to augment the power generation capacity and provide uninterrupted power to the farmers. He had inherited these challenges when he became the state chief minister and every one knows how over the last few years new canals have been constructed for irrigation and roads built for providing better connectivity to the people, especially in the rural areas, the chief minister said. He emphasised that his government is committed to doing everything to raise the standard of living of farmers and making agriculture and paying preposition.
“We are also moving on the fast track to complete the task of feeder separation by December 2012 to provide at least eight hours of uninterrupted power supply for irrigation pumps and round-the-clock electricity supply for domestic consumers,” Mr Chouhan pointed out.