Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that a grand campaign to change the lives of sisters is going on in Madhya Pradesh. The government has now formed Ladli Bahana Yojana, in which poor and lower middle class women will get Rs. 1000 per month.

He said that Ladli Bahana is not just a scheme but a social revolution. My sisters will no longer have to reach out to anyone to fulfill their minor needs. This is a gift from a brother to his sisters, which they will receive throughout the year, not just on Raksha Bandhan.

Chouhan attended Mukhya Mantri Ladli Bahna Mahasammelan at Keolari in Seoni district today. The Chief Minister dedicated and laid the foundation stone of various development works worth Rs. 129 crore. Along with this, the pattas (leases) of the Mukhya Mantri Awasiya Bhu-Adhikar Yojana were distributed to the beneficiaries. Benefits in other schemes were also distributed to the beneficiaries.

Chief Minister Chouhan said that my sisters are giving their immense support to the ongoing campaign for women empowerment in Madhya Pradesh. Even today the tent proved too small to accommodate them. I am deeply grateful to my sisters for their love, affection and support. Brother-sister relationship is a wonderful relationship. I have taken a vow that I will not let tears come in the eyes of my sisters. Today I have come to tell you my feelings, not to give a speech.

Chouhan said that there was a lot of respect and honour for women in ancient India. It reduced in the middle ages and discrimination and injustice started being done to the daughters. I have been witnessing discrimination against daughters since childhood. That’s why I took a vow that I will end this discrimination and injustice. I am working continuously to fulfill it.

Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that Ladli Laxmi Yojana was first formulated in the state and at the time of their birth, daughters were given savings certificates worth Rs. 30 thousand. In this, from time to time, they get funds for studies and on completion of 21 years of age, they get one lakh rupees in lump sum. Today there are more than 44 lakh Ladli Laxmis in Madhya Pradesh.

Chouhan said that 50 percent reservation has been given in Panchayat and local elections in Madhya Pradesh to make sisters politically empowered. As a result, today my sisters are running the government from village panchayats to district panchayats. Only one per cent registration fee is charged for the transfer of land and property in the name of sisters. Reservation is also being given to daughters in the recruitment of police and teachers. Under the Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah-Nikah Yojana, the government gets poor sisters married. Sisters are also given benefits under Sambal Yojana.

Chouhan said that the benefit of Ladli Bahna Yojana will be given to those sisters in the age group of 23 to 60 years, whose annual family income is less than Rs. two and half lakh rupees, do not have over 5 acres of land in the household and do not have a four wheeler vehicle. Forms of the scheme are being filled by April 30, they will be checked in the month of May and from June 10, Rs. 1000 per month will start coming into the accounts of eligible sisters.

Chouhan said that almost all the demands made for Seoni area will be fulfilled. He said that some villages of the district were left out of supply of drinking water, all of them would be covered in the Jal Jeevan Mission. A survey will be conducted for the arrangement of irrigation water in Lal Mati area of the district.

Chouhan inaugurated the programme by performing Kanya-pujan, lighting the lamp and garlanding the portraits of public heroes. The sisters of Keolari region presented a letter and a replica of Shri Ram Darbar to their brother Shivraj. CM Shri Chouhan welcomed the sisters who came in large numbers in the conference by showering flowers.

Union Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development Faggan Singh Kulaste said that for the first time in the history of the country, any government has implemented a scheme like Mukhya Mantri Ladli Bahna for the welfare of women. He said that Ladli Bahna Yojana would definitely prove to be a milestone in the direction of empowering the economic and social status of the women of the state.

MLA Rakesh Pal thanked Chief Minister Chouhan on getting the approval of the multi-purpose project Bhimgarh Canal. He said that due to the cementation of the canal, the farmers till the last end would be able to get water for irrigation on time and the wastage of water would also reduce. MSME Minister Omprakash Sakhlecha, public representatives, officers and a large number of sisters and citizens were present in the programme.