Chhattisgarh government and politics have added some new leaves to the political records in India. However, the bifurcation of the larger state of Madhya Pradesh and the birth of Chhattisgarh was considerably a peaceful process.
But the demand for a state to preserve the ethnic identities of the people here itself gave birth to certain new chapters in the history of India. This has made the formation of this new state an important issue for the whole nation. Presently the Executive head of the Chhattisgarh government is Shri Balramji Dass Tandon, the Governor. The legislative head is Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh.
The important departments of the government of Chhattisgarh are the police department, agriculture department, general administration department, labor department, finance and planning and the water resources department. Politics in Chhattisgarh is a very competitive field. The major national parties in the state are Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress. The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Gondwana Party are the two most important state parties in Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh government and politics is still guided by the various regional issues that led to the formation of this new state.
Governor and Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
Biswabhusan Harichandan, who took office on February 23, 2023, is the current Governor of Chhattisgarh. A veteran politician from Odisha, Harichandan joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (predecessor to BJP) in 1971. He was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly five times between 1977 and 2009, representing different constituencies. He also served as a minister in the BJD-BJP coalition government in Odisha from 2004 to 2009, holding portfolios like Law, Revenue, and Fisheries.
Vishnu Deo Sai is the current Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, who took office on December 13, 2023, following the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the state elections earlier that year. A long-time BJP leader from Chhattisgarh, Sai entered politics in the 1980s. He was elected to the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly four times between 2003 and 2023, representing different constituencies. He also held various ministerial positions in previous BJP governments in Chhattisgarh, including Health, Forest, and Revenue departments. Lastly, he played a key role in mobilizing tribal voters and rural communities for the BJP in the 2023 state elections.
Government of Chhattisgarh
The three divisions of the government of Chhattisgarh are the executive, legislative and the judiciary. The executive body of the government in Chhattisgarh is headed by the Governor. The cabinet of ministers works under the guidance of the Chief Minister and leads different departments of the government. There are various departments and institutions functioning under the Chhattisgarh government. Some of them are related to food, water resources, civil supplies, transport, labour and tribal welfare, panchayat and rural development, revenue, law and legal affairs, etc.
Chhattisgarh Political Parties
The two most prominent national political parties that are present in the state of Chhattisgarh are the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress. The two parties have played an important role in all the elections conducted in the state. Some of the Chhattisgarh political parties of the state are the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, Chhattisgarh Samaj Party and the Gondwana Party. The political parties in Chhattisgarh have several representatives from the tribal communities. Of the 146 blocks in the state of Chhattisgarh, 85 are representatives of the tribal communities who occupy 32 percent of the state population. Women also play an active role by participating in politics in Chhattisgarh.
Government Departments and Institutions
The Chhattisgarh government departments and institutions aid in the governance of the state. The departments of the Chhattisgarh government allocate the resources of the state ensuring maximum utilisation of the resources without exhausting it. The departments conduct research to improve the sectors ascertaining growth and development. Popularly known as the 'Rice Bowl of India', the land under cultivation in Chhattisgarh is around 47.8 Lakh hectares, which represents about 35% of the state's total geographical area. Almost 80% of the people of the state are dependent on agriculture for their source of living, according to government figures. The agricultural department ascertains that the agricultural sector is endowed with all facilities to realize its true potential. The department attempts to achieve multiple cropping in the arable lands and also to increase the productivity of the agro based small-scale industries of the state. The department of finance ensures equitable distribution of the revenue of the state in the various sectors. Some of the other prominent departments of Chhattisgarh are the labor department and the police department and the department of general administration.
The various other departments of the Chhattisgarh are:
- Department of Commercial Industry
- Aviation Department
- Forest Department
- Department of Social Welfare
- Transport Department
- Energy Department
- Tribal Department
- Department of Animal Husbandry
- Department of Public Relation
- Department of Sports and Youth Welfare
- Department of Technical Education
- Department of Women and Child Development
- Tourism Department
- Registrar Forms
- Mining Department
- Jail
Agricultural Department
The Chhattisgarh Agricultural Department assists in allocation of the resources and planning to benefit the agricultural sector of the state of Chhattisgarh. The state has 47.8 lakh hectares of arable land and 80 percent of the total population is dependent on the sector. The agricultural department of Chhattisgarh tries to enhance the productivity of the cultivated land in the state. The agricultural department in Chhattisgarh attempts to achieve total mechanization of the arable lands in the state. The department ensures the availability of power in the agricultural sector to facilitate the use of machines in the fields for harvesting, seed processing, seedbed preparation and threshing. The use of machines will also ensure the low cost of production in this sector allowing the farmers to earn more profits. The agricultural department encourages the use of pesticides and insecticides to protect the crop from devastation. The department encourages the agricultural sector of Chhattisgarh to use high yielding variety seeds. The department attempts to reduce the dependency of the farmers on the monsoon showers by increasing the irrigation potential of the state. The farmers are encouraged to practice crop rotation to retain the fertility of the soil. The department of agriculture in Chhattisgarh ascertains the easy availability of funds at cheaper rates of interest to the tillers of the soil. The efforts of the Chhattisgarh agricultural department has facilitated the increase in production of crops in the state. The high productivity of the state has earned it the name of the 'Rice Bowl of India'.
Finance and planning
Chhattisgarh finance and planning is operated by the department of finance and planning spearheaded by the Chief Minister of the state. The various sections of the department work to ensure the equitable collection and distribution of the revenue to all sectors of the society. The department's proposal related to finance and planning is for the period of one year. The departments are the finance department, trade tax department and the planning department. The chief work of the department is that of treasury accounting and regulation and releasing of the pension. The Treasury accounting and pension department was established on 1st November 2000. The department keeps a record of all the transactions done by the various departments of the state and also compiles a monthly record of the income and expenditure by various departments of the state. It also takes into account the proper and regular disbursal of salaries and pensions of the working as well as retired employees. The department was previously non-computerized. In order to make the working more effective and less time consuming the department has been computerized from 4 November 2004 and connected to the main server. The state's income expenditure records are maintained and are available in the main server. Pension accounts have also been computerized. The department of Chhattisgarh Finance and Planning has introduced schemes like the Anshdai pension scheme and the E-challan.
Police department
The Chhattisgarh Police Department is responsible for the detection and prevention of crime in the state of Chhattisgarh. The effective working of the police department of Chhattisgarh has helped in achieving a safe and secure society in the state.
The police department falls under the administration of the home ministry and the Home Minister is the administrative head of the department. The police department of Chhattisgarh is segregated into a number of departments like the administration department, organisational department, crime detection department, special department, Chhattisgarh police force and the training section. The state of Chattisgarh has experienced industrialisation and development and growth in population. The boom in the society has led to an increase in crime in the state. The performance of the police department has increased as well. The naxal movement is prevalent in the state. The police department has encountered the naxalites previously 326 times and has been successful in arresting 242 of them. The police department has also assisted in conducting the elections of the state without any hindrance from the antisocial groups in the state.
General Administration Department
The Chhattisgarh general administration department is responsible for the administration in the government offices. The department doles out laws for the conduct in the various offices and sections of the government. The department is spearheaded by the Chief Minister of the state. The different sections that fall under the administrative powers of the department of general administration of Chhattisgarh are the following:
- Raj Bhavan
- Public Service Commission
- Anti Corruption Bureau
- Human Rights Bureau
- Administrative Academy
- State Election Commission
- State Government Departments
Chhattisgarh Water Resource Department
The Chhattisgarh water resource department is responsible for the adequate distribution and allocation of water in the different sectors of the society in Chhattisgarh. The department also undertakes various irrigation schemes in the state of Chhattisgarh. The department has demarcated several work areas under its jurisdiction. The state is watered by the chief rivers of South India like the Mahanadi, Godavari and the Rihand. The water resource department of Chhattisgarh ensures the proper distribution of the water of the non-perennial rivers to all the sectors of the society. The agricultural sector of the state is dependent on the monsoonal showers for their crop cultivation. Proper irrigation facilities made available by the department, has reduced the dependency of the farmers on the seasonal rains. The Chhattisgarh water resource department has several responsibilities that are listed below:
- To estimate the requirement of water for the state.
- The department is responsible for framing a policy for the effective utilisation of water and to issue guidelines from time to time at regular intervals to make it more effective.
- To bring coordination in the development of all the water resources.
- To make policies regarding the irrigation area of the state.
- Regular monitoring and control of the proposed plans.
Ministries
Headed by the Chief Minister, the government of Chhattisgarh is divided into several Chhattisgarh ministries. The cabinet ministers aid the Chief Minister to administer the various ministries and departments of the government. The Chief Minister of the state has the authority of governance over the ministries of finance, aviation, mining, public relations, planning and statistics, information and technology and biotechnology. The chief minister also heads the department that receives and accepts public grievances. The cabinet minister is also the chief of the ministries that administer the jails and the cooperatives of the state of Chhattisgarh. The agricultural ministry also has binary ministries of animal husbandry and fisheries administered by the agricultural minister himself.
Some of the other important ministries of the state of Chhattisgarh are the following:
- Urban Administration
- Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
- Ministry of Transport and Communication
- Panchayat and Rural Development Ministry
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
The Chhattisgarh ministries run on the revenue collected from the various sectors. The state of Chhattisgarh also receives grants from the Union Government of India that are an economic aid to the various ministries of Chhattisgarh.
Chattisgarh Public Service Commission
It was established to guide the government regarding various issues concerning the civil service. It also advises on the appointments in the Chattisgarh Public Service Commission. The Commission was founded on 23 May 2001, under Article 315 of the Indian constitution. Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission conducts examinations for the recruitment of employees in various government department like Agriculture, Cooperation, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Department, Rural Industries Department, Tourism Department, Directorate of Institutional Finance (DIF), Finance Department, Public Works Department (PWD), Forest Department, General Administration Department (IAS Establishment), Health and Family Welfare Department, Jail Department, Public Health Engineering Department, Women and Child Development Department. The retired Police commissioner Mohan Shukla was the first chairman and B.L.Tiwari was the first secretary of Chattisgarh Public Service Commission. The office is located at Shankar Nagar, near Bhagat Singh Chowk of Raipur. The constitution of India has designated a number of responsibilities to the commission.
- To carry on the recruitment in various State, Subordinate and Ministerial Services.
- To conduct departmental examinations for government employees.
- To advice the Government on all issues related to the recruitment process.
- To advice the Government on disciplinary matters related to the Government employees.
- To advice the Government on transfers, appointments and promotions of the Government servants.
The Commission has always been involved in the process of upgrading and improvising the systems and procedures of examination and selection of the civil services exam so that the best candidate is chosen for the post. Chattisgarh Public Service Commission is led by the Chairman and constitutes of other members who are appointed by the Governor.
Chhattisgarh Parliamentary Constituencies
In Chhattisgarh, there are eleven Parliamentary Constituencies. The constituencies are:
- Bilaspur
- Sarguja
- Raigarh
- Janjgir
- Raipur
- Mahasamund
- Bastar
- Sarangarh
- Rajnandgaon
- Kanker
- Durg
Chhattisgarh Assembly Constituencies
Chhattisgarh Assembly Constituencies have important role in the politics of Chhattisgarh. The state capital of Chhattisgarh is Raipur. It emerged as an independent state in India in November 2000. It is divided into sixteen districts. The total number of Assembly Constituencies of Chhattisgarh is 90. Some of the leading political parties in Chhattisgarh are Bharatiya Janata Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India(Marxist), Indian National Congress, Janata Dal United, Samajwadi Party and Gondvana Gantantra Party. Candidates from different political parties contests for Chhattisgarh Assembly Constituencies.
The names of the districts of Chhatisgarh with their Assembly Constituencies are given below:
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Last Updated on : December 21, 2023