Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel hoisted the tricolour at Police Parade Ground in the State Capital on the occasion of Independence Day. An impressive march past was taken out by the police personnel. The Chief Minister accompanied by Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Juneja inspected the parade.

Addressing the gathering at the Police Parade Ground here, Chief Minister Baghel said that on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Independence Day, Chhattisgarh will commence a new journey of development, taking forward the legacy of justice and attaining the goal of ‘Gadbo Nava Chhattisgarh’.

Paying tribute to the freedom fighters and martyrs of the country, Baghel said, “Our forefathers had fought against the British rule to make the country free. It was their sacrifice and love for the country that laid the foundation of safe, secure and bright future for the upcoming generations. It is our duty to make their dreams come true and to cherish their memories forever. Baghel said that the martyrdom of thousands of great freedom fighters and revolutionaries will continue to inspire us to make supreme sacrifice for the country.

Referring to the last testament of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, the Chief Minister said, “India has achieved political independence, but the nation is yet to achieve social, economic and moral freedom, especially for its seven lakh villages”. Baghel further said that to transform the gothans into livelihood centers, Chhattisgarh is all set to commence the ‘Rural Industrial Parks’ in the State on October 2. Baghel said that the Congress Government considers ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme’ as the lifeline of the daily wage worker families in rural areas.

Chief Minister said that Chhattisgarh Government is taking every possible measure to ensure justice to each section of the society. In the same sequence, 1,275 different types of cases pending in the courts have been withdrawn, followed by the honourable release of the victim. Baghel said that the State government arrested 622 office-bearers of the chit fund companies guilty of cheating innocent common people. The Courts issued orders for auction of the properties worth about Rs 56 crore. So far, an amount of Rs 32 crore has been recovered from the auction and about Rs 18 crore has been returned to more than 28 thousand investors. The work of returning the balance amount received from the auction to the investors is also in progress. In the interest of tribal people of the state, the State government has formulated new rules under the long-pending PESA Act and commenced the implementation of the same. Implementation of this Act will empower the Gram Sabhas to take decisions regarding their water-forest-land (Jal-Jungle-Zameen), he added. The State government has implemented many schemes to make healthcare facilities more accessible to the masses. The State Government has made adequate budget provision for establishment of Multi Super Specialty Hospitals at Jagdalpur and Bilaspur, State Cancer Institute at Bilaspur, Korba-Kanker and new medical colleges in Mahasamund. In Nava Raipur, 25 acres of land has been identified for the establishment of state-of-the-art Multi Super Specialty Hospital. The State government has constituted Film Cell to promote Chhattisgarhi Film Industry. ‘Single Window Panel Software’ has been developed, and District Collector has been authorized to provide no-objection certificate from all the departments to the producer-director, he added “The Naxalite problem has been brought under control to a great extent, and this is a major victory of faith in democracy. ‘Faith, Development and Security’ has played an important role in this victory. We have boosted the morale of police and security forces by taking several positive steps in last three and a half years,” Baghel said. “The State government has hiked the honorarium and financial powers of the officials in three-tier panchayat-raj institutions and urban bodies. We have done increment in the salaries of Vidhan Sabha members as well. I would like all the public representatives to work more actively and ensure quick redressal of public grievances. In this way, we will face the future challenges with mutual respect, unity, coordination, and understanding,” he added. Baghel also honoured police officials and three Gothans in the function.