Shat pratishat kriyanvan (hundred per cent implementation) of our previous poll promises,Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh repeatedly announces at several forums,is the BJPs chief electoral plank this year. Many of the promises his party made during the last two elections,however,have remained that,some of them having been repeated poll after poll. A look at what the BJP has been promising and how much it has delivered. Manifesto 2003 * Rs 500 unemployment allowance to all youths who pass Class XII (People dont remember the scheme,the state government doesnt even talk of it today) * A cow for each tribal family (Government claims to have given cows to a few initially,but discontinued the scheme almost immediately) * Two hectares land to each SC,ST and economically weaker family (Not given) * Over 1,500 dal-bhat centres at every block headquarters to provide meals at Rs 5 (Opened at a few HQs,mostly discontinued) * Farmer Welfare Fund (Recycled in 2008 and in 2013) * Complete withdrawal of land tax (Not done) * Collective insurance for rickshaw-pullers,auto-rickshaw drivers and other similar unorganised sector workers (Promise repeated in 2008 and 2013) * A farmers court (Not set up) * Womens market in every district (Promised again in 2013) Manifesto 2008 * Free 5 hp electricity for farmers (Repeated in 2013) * Interest free loan for farmers (Still a promise,made again) * Chhattisgarh to be free from migration and fear (Repeated in 2013 manifesto. Government officials openly admit migration from tribal areas. From tribal districts like Jashpur,minor girls move en masse to metro cities to work as domestic helps. No policy to prevent this. About fear,this years elections are being held under a security cover that could be the thickest in the country ever) * 100% insurance for landless labourers (Promis repeated) * Pure drinking water and toilets in all villages (Yet to be provided) * A law to preserve fertile land that can be used for agriculture (Not enacted) * Connection of all villages with concrete road and construction of community centres (Promise repeated in 2013 manifesto. Even conservative estimates suggest at least 3,000 villages are yet to be connected with roads) * Special agro-forestry zones (Not created) * Interest-free loans for higher education (Not provided) * Industries based on forest produce in tribal areas with tribals as their shareholders (Not introduced) * Women staff in every police station (Not introduced) * Womens Welfare and Development Corporation (Not set up) * Working womens hostel in every district (Not done) * Selected cities to be developed as knowledge cities (Not done) * ITIs at all block headquarters (Not done) * A law to protect tribal rights in sale-purchase and illegal acquisition of land (Not enacted) * On forest land of tribal areas,at least one educated tribal from every gram panchayat to be employed for the protection of forests (Not done) * A national research centre for preservation of tribal arts and folk languages (Not done) * A backward class development authority (Promiseepeated in 2013) * All vacancies in government departments to be filled (Recycled. The processs to fill vacancy will be initiated, says the 2013 manifesto) * One work-hours relaxation for married women employees in state government (Not done) * A science museum and a stadium in every district. (2013 manifesto repeats it,and promises indoor stadiums in all municipal areas) * Bio-tech and IT park (Not set up) * Attempts to bring Metro trains for Raipur-Durg-Rajnandgaon and Raipur-Bilaspur (Repeated in 2013) * Malnutrition to be eradicated (Repeated in 2013. Last December,Women and Child Development Minister Lata Usendi admitted in the assembly that 1,15,093 children are malnourished in Bastar alone,31,034 of them severely)
