Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that women are being continuously empowered in Madhya Pradesh and after the implementation of 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayat elections, “they are ruling from village to district panchayats in the state.”

“One such woman, Bharti, is the President of Harda Municipality,” CM Chouhan said while addressing the Mukhyamantri Ladli Bahna Mahasammelan in the Harda district. The chief minister dedicated and performed bhoomi-pujan of development works worth Rs 102 crore on the occasion. He also distributed benefits to the beneficiaries under various government schemes.

Talking about the Mukhyamantri Ladli Bahna Yojana, Chouhan said, “The Yojana has been started for the poor and middle-class women of the state. All the eligible sisters will be benefited by this scheme. The happiness of the sisters is my happiness. The life of the sisters should be happy, this will give meaning to my being the Chief Minister. This unbreakable bond of brother and sister in Madhya Pradesh will also lead to the development and will also shape the future of the people.”

“Earlier there was discrimination between boys and girls. A boy was considered a boon while a girl a burden. I resolved to end this injustice and continuously worked in this direction. Ladli Lakshmi Yojana was first formulated in Madhya Pradesh, through which the work of making daughters millionaires was done. Today there are over 44 lakh Ladli Lakshmi in the state,” Chouhan said.

He added that the daughters whom he had fed in his lap, were doing great things. The government took the responsibility not only for the education of daughters from poor families but also for their marriage. They got married under the Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah Yojana, the CM said.

He further said that 50 per cent reservation was given to women in local bodies elections of Madhya Pradesh for their empowerment. They were also given 30 per cent reservation in police recruitment and 50 per cent reservation in teachers’ appointment. On purchasing immovable property in the name of sisters and daughters, only 1 per cent stamp duty is charged from them, he added.
“It is our resolve to make every woman a millionaire and this work is being done in Madhya Pradesh through various schemes. Under the Rural Livelihood Mission, the government provides loans at two per cent interest to the women of self-help groups for various works,” the CM said.

Talking about employment, he said, “The employment has been arranged for every person in the state. The process of recruitment for 1,24,000 government posts is going on. Every month 2.5 lakh people are given loans for employment. Now a new scheme, ‘Learn and Earn’ has been prepared, in which educated youths will be able to earn while learning skills. Such youths will be given an honorarium of Rs 8100 a month.”

CM Chouhan also took a dig at the Congress party and said that the previous government had stopped many schemes for the welfare of the people, which have been now resumed. Under his government, the area under irrigation has increased from 7.5 lakh hectares to 45 lakh hectares. Harda has become the first cent per cent irrigated district of Madhya Pradesh. The Moran Ganjal scheme has been approved for the area. Earlier moong was not produced here, today moong is being produced in large quantities.

“Every poor person in Madhya Pradesh is being given a free plot of land for a living. Today, 1700 pattas are being distributed in Harda district under the Mukhya Mantri Awasiya Bhu-Adhikar Yojana,” the CM said. He instructed that the pattas should be distributed to the identified beneficiaries.