Chhattisgarh

• 03 Feb 2024

Chhattisgarh Implements Pay Raise and Women Empowerment Scheme

Why in News?

Recently, the Chhattisgarh government decided to increase the remuneration of tendu patta collectors from Rs 4000 per standard bag to Rs 5500 and implement the Mahtari Vandan Yojana.

Key Points

• The Cabinet has approved the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, under which married women will receive financial assistance of Rs 1000 per month, totaling Rs 12,000 annually, directly credited to their bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT).
  • The objective of this scheme is to eliminate gender discrimination, inequality, and lack of awareness among women in the state, and to improve their health and nutrition levels.
  • The benefits will be available to married women who are residents of Chhattisgarh and are aged 21 or above as of 1st January, 2024. Widowed, divorced, and abandoned women are also eligible for the scheme.
• To ensure the social security of tendu patta collectors, a new scheme will be implemented, with 75% of the financial assistance provided by the government and the remaining 25% by the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading and Development) Co-operative Federation.
• The Cabinet has also decided to implement the Bharat (BH) series vehicle registration in the state of Chhattisgarh.
  • Under the BH series implemented by the Government of India, two-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles will have to pay tax for two years at one go.
• The draft of the Chhattisgarh Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill-2024 was also approved.

Maoist Tunnel Found in Chhattisgarh's Bastar

Why in News?

• Recently, troops returning from an operation in Maoist-hit Bijapur discovered a 130 ft-long Viet Cong-style tunnel dug by the insurgents.

Key Points

• It's the first such discovery in Bastar since the insurgency began nearly two decades ago and adds a layer of complexity to counter-insurgency operations.
• District Reserve Guard jawans found the tunnel near Tadopot village on the banks of Indravati, around 330 km south of Raipur.
• The discovery of such a tunnel indicates that Maoists are changing tactics to tackle the intensification of security operations and aerial surveillance.

Left Wing Extremism in India

• Left-wing extremists, popularly known as Maoists worldwide and as Naxalites in India.
• The term Naxalism derives its name from the village Naxalbari of West Bengal. It originated as a rebellion against local landlords who bashed a peasant over a land dispute.
  • The rebellion was initiated in 1967, with an objective of rightful redistribution of the land to working peasants under the leadership of Kanu Sanyal and Jagan Santhal.
• The movement has spread across Eastern India in less developed areas of states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
• It is considered that Naxals support Maoist political sentiments and ideology.
  • Maoism is a form of communism developed by Mao Tse Tung. It is a doctrine to capture State power through a combination of armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances.