Under the Lok Suraj initiative, each year, Chief Minister Raman Singh visits people in their homes and incorporates their views into various policies, thus transforming the lives of people in the farthest corners of Chhattisgarh.
With the Lok Suraj initiative, Chief Minister Raman Singh has brought good governance to the doorsteps of citizens of Chhattisgarh. Lok Suraj is an annual social-audit campaign that aims to resolve grievances, and fulfill the plausible demands of people within stipulated timelines. It ensures development and easy access to services till the last mile.
Under Lok Suraj 2018, a three-phased campaign has been implemented with full vigour this year till now. The first phase of submission of applications ran from 12-14 January in which people were invited to fill up applications stating their grievances; the second phase, from 15 January to 10 March, involved the redressal process whereby the district administration went through each of the submitted applications and provided solutions.ith the Lok Suraj initiative, Chief Minister Raman Singh has brought good governance to the doorsteps of citizens of Chhattisgarh. Lok Suraj is an annual social-audit campaign that aims to resolve grievances, and fulfill the plausible demands of people within stipulated timelines. It ensures development and easy access to services till the last mile.
In the third phase of Samadhan Shivirs from 11-31 March, the Chief Minister travelled to every district to take stock of the developmental works, connect with people and understand their problems, verify resolutions happening on the ground, and review the performance of the districts. The total number of applications received was 30, 16,142 and issues in over 98% of the applications received have already been resolved.
According to Chief Minister Raman Singh: “Each year, Lok Suraj gives me the opportunity to visit people in their homes, listen to them and incorporate their needs and views into various policies. This initiative has successfully transformed the lives of people in the farthest corners of Chhattisgarh by ensuring efficient and transparent governance.”
Schemes that have emerged from the Lok Suraj initiative
There have been several schemes that the Lok Suraj initiative has given birth to. Some of the prominent ones are:
PDS reform:
The Chhattisgarh Food Security Act, 2012, guarantees access to quality food for everyone and complements nutritional security.
Saraswati Cycle Yojana:
Under this scheme, cycles are distributed free of cost to all SC/ST/BPL girls students enrolled in class 9. It aims at ensuring that the girl students continue their education beyond the primary level. It also aims at promoting the enrolment of girls and reducing the dropout of the girl child in the age group of 14-18 at the secondary and senior secondary levels.
Mukhyamantri Bal Hriday Yojana:
From 2008, the Chhattisgarh government has been providing free treatment under the Mukhyamantri Bal Hriday Suraksha Yojana or the Chief Minister’s Child Heart Scheme, for children having heart ailments. The scheme covers children between 0-15 years. Under the scheme, children from BPL and APL categories get free treatment in nearby hospitals, whether the hospital is government-aided or private.
Chirayu Yojana:
This scheme aims to provide free health screening to children up to 18 years of age, in the state. After screening for health problems such as cough-cold, vomiting, fever, anemia, deficiency of iron and vitamins, dental and vision related complications and other ailments, children are provided further treatment. If children have any serious ailments, they are referred to hospitals.
Mukhyamantri Charanpaduka Yojana:
The Chhattisgarh government has been providing Charanpaduka (shoes/chappals) to one member in each family of gatherers of Tendu leaves from 2006-07 onwards. Only those families are eligible for the above who collect minimum 500 gaddies in at least one year in preceding two years.
Mukhyamantri Bal Shravan Yojana:
This scheme involves cochlear implant surgery for children between age 1-7. Rs 6 lakh has been approved for BPL families and Rs 4 lakh for other families for surgery under this scheme. In 2017, 135 children benefitted so far from this scheme.