Madhya Pradesh

• 08 Feb 2023

Important Decisions of the Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Madhya Pradesh

Why In News?

• On 7 February 2023, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held in Mantralaya under the chairmanship of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in which many important decisions were taken.

Key points

• It was decided by the Council of Ministers that due to the death of late R.S Rathore, Additional Director, Economic and Statistics on April 19, 2021, due to corona infection, his married daughter Shraddha Malvi, despite not being eligible, will be sent to the High Court on humanitarian grounds. Compassionate appointment should be given considering it as a special case in the sequence of the decision of Bench Indore.
• Along with this, in the provisions of the Compassionate Order issued by the General Administration Department on September 29, 2014, a policy decision was also taken by the Council of Ministers that both sons and daughters have equal rights for compassionate appointment, even if the daughters are married. The General Administration Department will make necessary amendments in the policy in this regard.
• A budget provision of Rs 150 crore has been made by the Council of Ministers in the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Department for the year 2022-23 under the 'Chief Minister Animal Husbandry Development Scheme'.
• Under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, amendments have been made in the 'Chief Minister's Milk Cow Supply Programme', a component approved for special backward tribes included in the Chief Minister's Animal Husbandry Development Scheme approved by the Council of Ministers earlier. Now in this scheme, Saharia and Bharia special backward tribes along with Baiga tribe have also been included in the Mukhyamantri Milch Cattle Supply Program.
• In this program, along with the milch cow unit, the milch buffalo unit has also been included. In the context of including milch buffalo along with milch cow in this program, the name of the scheme was changed from 'Chief Minister Milch Cow Supply Program' to 'Chief Minister Milch Animal Supply Program for Special Backward Tribes'.
• The Cabinet approved the development of storage-based projects in the New and Renewable Energy Policy-2022 implemented in the state since last year. In this context, the Cabinet decided to implement pump hydro storage projects and edit the tender process.
• The decision will further ensure continuity of energy generated from renewable energy projects and benefit in grid stability. The proposed scheme for development of pump hydro projects in the state has been approved by the Department of New and Renewable Energy. The department was authorised to give clarifications.
• As per the recommendation of the Empowered Committee constituted by the Cabinet under the Chairmanship of The Chief Secretary, the total project expenditure for expansion, operation and establishment of new disaster recovery site at National Data Center Bhubaneswar and upgradation of existing hardware and software was approved at Rs.161.95 crore.

Suraj Policy-2023

Why In News?

• On 7 February 2023, Madhya Pradesh Urban Development and Housing Minister Bhupendra Singh informed that according to the announcement made by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, 'after freeing government lands from encroachment, the land available will be occupied by the homeless, economically weaker sections (EWS) Suraj Policy-2023 has been approved by the Cabinet for construction of houses for housing.

Key points

• Making proper use of the government land freed from encroachment by the district administration as its own resource, construction of necessary infrastructure works, construction of community facilities and Suraj Colony for economically weaker sections (EWS) This policy has been prepared in order to raise proper financial resources for the construction of the colony and to ensure the development of the said plots of the urban area with a suitable density.
• The objective of this policy is to provide affordable housing to the homeless of EWS category under Suraj Colony as per re-densification policy without government budgetary support and to make best use of the encroachment-free land for the development of the city.
• The main points of this policy are as follows:
  • Scheme for construction of houses for the homeless and economically weaker sections on government land freed from encroachment after April 1, 2020.
  • A piece of land freed from encroachment will be handed over to a private developer, in exchange for the remaining land being built at Suraj Tower for EWS housing.
  • The reserve price of land to be given to private developer will be calculated based on open tenders as per the established policy of the Department of Public Asset Management.
  • In small towns, colonies can be developed on residential leases of up to 450 square feet instead of multi-story.
  • In the project, all the necessary infrastructure for Suraj Colony such as roads, water supply, electricity, garden, community building and school and dispensary will also be built if needed.
  • After construction, the units will be allotted at the district level to the homeless people of the weaker income group based on the eligibility and formula of the Prime Minister's Housing Scheme.
  • In special circumstances, slums can also be rehabilitated and rehabilitated if required in government projects such as roads etc.
  • All other procedures for the implementation of the scheme will be as per the Redensification Policy 2022 established in the state.
  • After the construction of Suraj Tower Colony, for the next 5 years under the Defect Liability Period, the private developer will be responsible for development and maintenance, operation and repair of the colony for 3 years.