The tribal-dominated state of Chhattisgarh is set to witness elections to its 90-member state assembly in two phases on 7 November, when 20 seats will go to polls, and then on 17 November for the remaining 70 seats.
The election season in the state has been pronounced by sharp sloganeering, promises of welfare schemes and multi-crore infrastructure and developments in the state. While the BJP and the Congress are the major parties in the fray, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting for the second time after 2018.
The Congress-ruled government led by Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh is being challenged by BJP’s Raman Singh, who has been the chief minister of the state for three consecutive terms spanning 15 years from December 2003 to December 2018.
On 25 October, the BJP’s Chhattisgarh unit shared a caricature portraying Baghel as Ravana on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) and said that "this time, Ravana of corruption will be burnt".
Meanwhile, Baghel, who has become a popular leader in the state owing to several welfare schemes, quipped, “For me, commission taking, illiteracy, malnutrition, plight of farmers, Naxalism are the forms of Ravana.”
Earlier this week Baghel reiterated his promise to waive off farm loans if Congress comes to power in Chhattisgarh. His government has spent Rs 1.75 lakh crore on welfare schemes in the last five years, The Indian Express has reported.
In March this year, Baghel, whose party will be fighting anti-incumbency this poll season, had announced that Rs 2,500 will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of unemployed educated youth and had earmarked Rs 250 crore for this scheme.
Before the results of the assembly elections drop in on 3 December, let’s take a look at how many youth are unemployed in the central state.
Does Chhattisgarh Have the Lowest Unemployment Rate in India?
According to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in December last year, the unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh for the month of November 2022 was 0.1 -- the lowest in the country.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate of India during the same time was recorded at 8.2%, while its parent state Madhya Pradesh recorded an unemployment rate of 6.2%.
Citing these numbers, the Congress attributed the low unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh to the “plans of the state government to balance the urban-rural economy and create new employment opportunities.”
It is important to note that even when the entire nation was suffering from a high unemployment rate of 23.5% in April 2020 due to the nation-wide shutdown in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh was recorded at a 12-month-low of 3.4%, as per data from CMIE.
At that time, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das appreciated the Chhattisgarh government for leading in agriculture and allied activities despite adverse conditions during the pandemic and the resultant lockdown.
Describing the increased sowing of paddy in Chhattisgarh as “slivers of brightness amidst the encircling gloom”, the RBI governor had said that these efforts to increase food grain stocks will help India’s economy to stage a sharp V-shaped recovery in 2021-22 as projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Joblessness has been consistently limited in Chhattisgarh since September 2019, when the unemployment rate was at a record high of 22.2 percent. At that time, the Raman Singh-led BJP government was in power.
How to ‘Beat’ Unemployment: The Chhattisgarh Model
In a statement titled Unemployment ‘Beaten’ in Chhattisgarh in October last year, the Congress attributed the successful curtailing of joblessness to the many welfare schemes – loan-waivers and increase in support price – launched by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in the state:
Lakhs of employment opportunities generated through agriculture – the number of farmers increased from 15 lakh to 26 lakh.
Increase in the collection rate of minor forest produce and purchase of 65 types of minor forest produce at support price
Increase in the remuneration rate for collection of tendu leaves
Agricultural status to Fisheries and lac production
Promotion of traditional artisans, weavers and entrepreneurs
Regular teachers were recruited in the schools
Expanding the Godhan Nyay Yojna, purchase of cow urine has been started. Fertilizers and pesticides will be made from the purchased cow urine, which will create new employment opportunities.
Gauthans built in villages are being upgraded into Rural Industrial Parks, where processing units like oil mill, pulse mill, mini rice mill are being set up
The government has registered more than 5,000 unemployed engineers. Of these, 1,500 youth have been given work worth about Rs 200 crore
More than 26 lakh employment opportunities were created under MGNREGA. Similarly, 14 lakh families are getting work every year from the forest
As compared to other states, the unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh as of 1 April 2023 stood at 0.8 percent – one of the lowest in the country.
‘Rs 147 Crore Directly Transferred into Jobless Youths' Bank Accounts’
Under the ‘Berojgari Bhatta Yojana’ (unemployment allowance scheme), unemployed youth in the age group of 18 to 35 years who passed class 12, and with an annual family income of less than 2.50 lakh, are entitled to an allowance of Rs 2,500 per month.
On 30 August, Rs 34.55 crore was transferred as the fifth installment into the bank accounts of over 129,000 registered unemployed youth of the state, Business Standard reported citing a statement of the Chhattisgarh government.
According to the report, Baghel said the state government has disbursed Rs 146.98 crore to unemployed individuals across Chhattisgarh. He added:
"The purpose of this scheme is not only to provide financial support to educated unemployed youth but also to connect them with employment and self-employment opportunities."Bhupesh Baghel, CM, Chhattisgarh
Baghel said that placement camps are being organised across the state and that nearly 6,700 individuals have been connected to jobs and self-employment through this initiative. Of these, 4,718 youth are receiving unemployment allowances, he said.
In addition, the chief minister stated that as of August 2023, nearly 7,200 youth are undergoing skill training in vocational colleges and polytechnics, while another 1,782 will start soon.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched development projects worth Rs 26,000 in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district. While dedicating NMDC’s steel plant in Nagarnar, Bastar to the nation on 3 October, PM Modi said:
“Chhattisgarh is known for steel manufacturing. We are focusing more on infrastructure development. Due to the new steel plant, 50,000 people will get employment opportunities."
According to Employment Exchange Statistics 2023, reported by the Union Ministry of Labour, nearly 1900 jobseekers from Chhattisgarh have registered on the portal. Of them, 185 belong to the Scheduled Caste community, 407 belong to the Scheduled Caste community, while 473 belong to Other Backward Classes (OBCs). None of them have been placed, as per the data.
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