Raipur: Seven important proposals related to the state’s development, industrialization, digital governance and infrastructure were approved in the cabinet meeting held at Mantralaya Mahanadi Bhawan on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai.
The cabinet took several important decisions including Chhattisgarh Artificial Intelligence Mission worth Rs 500 crore, setting up of BEML’s Heavy Earth Moving Equipment plant, implementation of digital management system in the Public Works Department.
The Cabinet approved the Chhattisgarh State Artificial Intelligence Mission at a cost of Rs 500 crore for five years.
Under the mission, 100 AI data labs and five centers of excellence will be established, more than 300 AI startups will be supported, and 600,000 students and 150,000 government employees will be trained in AI. Furthermore, more than 50 government services will be made AI-enabled.
The meeting approved allotment of land at concessional rate to Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), a Government of India Public Sector Undertaking, for setting up a Heavy Earth Moving Equipment manufacturing plant in Chhattisgarh.
The government believes that this will attract large investments, increase employment opportunities for local youth and kick-start heavy machinery manufacturing industry in the state.
The first phase of Works and Account Management Information System was also approved to completely digitalize the construction works of the Public Works Department.
Through this system, processes like approval, e-estimation, e-procurement, e-measurement book, bill payment, accounting management and quality monitoring will be operated on an integrated digital platform.
The cabinet decided to amend the guidelines of the Chief Minister’s Village Road and Development Scheme to include concrete road and drain construction in rural interior streets and to eliminate the requirement for soil work under MNREGA before road construction. The scope of the scheme has also been expanded to include rural roads not covered by other schemes.
The meeting also approved full grant of Rs 15 crore from the Asian Development Bank for the ‘Anjor Light’ technical assistance project.
This three-year project will promote public financial management, the PPP ecosystem, green finance, and climate-resilient projects. This project will not impose any additional financial burden on the state government.
It was also decided to implement the State Single Nodal Agency model in the state for transparent and effective utilization of funds of government schemes.
Under the new system, the scheme funds will be released directly to the beneficiaries and vendors through a centralized mother account, which will increase financial discipline and transparency.
Apart from this, Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company Limited was approved to list on the stock exchange by issuing non-convertible debenture bonds up to Rs 200 crore.
The government says this will boost investment in the energy sector and provide new financial resources for the development of power infrastructure.