Only education and unity paves the way for the prosperity of society, state and country – Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai

Chief Minister Sai attended the annual social conference of Kharia Samaj

Raipur 14 February 2025: Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai, while addressing the annual conference of Kharia Scheduled Tribe Upliftment Committee, said that education is the strongest basis for the progress of any society. He called upon all the enlightened people and youth of the society to give priority to education and give right guidance to the next generation. Chief Minister Sai said in his address that the real progress of the tribal society will happen when education, economic empowerment and social unity are promoted equally. He said that the state government is committed to the upliftment of every section of the society and new heights of development will be seen in the coming years. He said that education and unity pave the way for the prosperity of the society, state and country. Discussing the historical journey of the Kharia society, he recalled the historic decision to include the society in the Scheduled Tribe category in 2011 and praised the efforts of the then Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh for this.

At the beginning of the program, floral tributes were paid to the photographs of Mata Saraswati and freedom fighter Shaheed Telanga Khadia. MLA and Vice President of Sarguja Area Development Authority Smt. Gomti Sai, former MLA Bharat Sai, and prominent officials of the society were present on the occasion. Government gave new dimensions to development in 13 months Chief Minister Sai said that the state government has implemented the guarantees of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ground in just 13 months. He informed that in the very first cabinet meeting after the formation of the government, it was decided to benefit 18 lakh families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. He said that giving priority to the interests of farmers, the rate of paddy purchase has been fixed at ₹ 3,100 per quintal, due to which farmers have got the benefit of selling paddy at the rate of 21 quintals per acre in the last two Kharif seasons. This year a new record has been set by purchasing more than 149 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in the state.

Government’s concrete efforts for the upliftment of Vanvasi Samaj While giving information about the steps taken for the Vanvasi Samaj, Chief Minister Sai said that the tendu leaf collection rate has been increased from ₹4,000 to ₹5,500 per standard sack, which is directly benefiting lakhs of collectors. Apart from this, financial assistance of ₹1,000 per month is being given under the Mahtari Vandan Yojana to economically empower 70 lakh mothers and sisters. For landless agricultural labourers, assistance of ₹10,000 is being given every year under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Bhumiheen Krishi Mazdoor Kalyan Yojana, which is directly benefiting the most needy section of the society. Chief Minister Sai said that schemes like PM Janman Yojana and Dharti Aaba Janjati Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan are being run for the education and overall development of the tribal society.

He informed that to provide more opportunities to the tribal youth preparing for UPSC, the number of seats in the Tribal Youth Hostel in Dwarka, Delhi has been increased from 50 to 185. Apart from this, 341 schools in the state are being included under the PM Shri scheme to provide high quality education to the children, so that they can avail the same facilities as private schools. Tribal society will have to move forward in an organised manner: MLA Smt. Gomti Sai MLA Smt. Gomti Sai said that the society which emphasizes on education, economic development and social unity, only that progresses. She called upon the people of the tribal society to move forward unitedly, so that the overall development of every section is possible. All the people present in the meeting resolved to work collectively for the education, employment and social upliftment of the tribal society. On this occasion, a large number of dignitaries of the society including State President of Kharia Samaj Madan Nayak, District Patron Bodh Sai Manjhi, District General Secretary Kripal Manjhi, District Vice President Ramsagar Soreng and Bal Kumar Pradhan were present.