The Congress accused the Chhattisgarh government of wasting public money after it allocated Rs 35 lakh for the maintenance of gardens of the chief minister and the governor on Thursday.
The allocation was made in the supplementary budget, which was passed in the monsoon session of the assembly.
The Congress said the BJP government was splurging on gardens at a time when the state was witnessing farmer deaths.
“This reflects the feudal mentality of the state government. We have submitted a list of 16 farmers who died in last two months. The government using public money for upkeep of two gardens is unacceptable,” said Congress spokesperson RP Singh.
He added that this was first time the government passed a budget with allocation for the upkeep of the gardens at the chief minister’s official residence and the Raj Bhavan.
According to the poverty numbers last assessed, around 40% of people in Chhattisgarh were poor in 2012, earning the top position in India’s poverty index.
The Planning Commission (now dismantled and replaced by Niti Aayog), in its India Human Development Report 2011, ranked Chhattisgarh lowest among all states.
{{/usCountry}}The Planning Commission (now dismantled and replaced by Niti Aayog), in its India Human Development Report 2011, ranked Chhattisgarh lowest among all states.
{{/usCountry}}The report ranked Chhattisgarh’s human development index lower than those of countries such as South Sudan, Central African Republic and Burkina Faso (which were grouped under ‘low human development’).
On Monday, in a written reply to a question from Congress MLA Mohan Markam in the assembly, Chhattisgarh revenue minister Premprakash Pandey said 111 farmers had committed suicide across the state between 2016 and June 30, 2017. He added that the reasons for the suicides were mainly family disputes and excess liquor consumption.
Of them, kin of only six farmers were provided financial assistance by the government under different schemes.