Chief Minister Shri Sai addressed the workshop on “Forest-Based Livelihood Opportunities for Tribal Communities”
Shared Initiative of NITI Aayog and the Government for Prosperity through Forest Produce: Emphasis on proper utilization of forest resources and employment generation
Raipur, March 28, 2025 // Tribal communities and forests share a deep relationship, and both are being protected and enhanced as complementary to each other. The tribal community has developed generation after generation in the lap of nature. This workshop, with its focus on the co-existence of tribals and forests, will pave the way for their progress. Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai was addressing a workshop organized jointly by NITI Aayog and the Department of Forest and Climate Change on the subject of “Forest-Based Livelihood Opportunities for Tribal Communities” in Nava Raipur today.
Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai welcomed all the intellectuals, subject experts, and officers to the workshop. He said that the responsibility of providing adequate livelihood opportunities to the tribal community rests on all of us. Chief Minister Shri Sai said that 32 percent of the population in Chhattisgarh is tribal and 44 percent of the area is forest-covered.
Chief Minister Shri Sai said that in his more than 35 years of public life, he has closely witnessed the struggles and pain of the tribal community and particularly backward tribes of the state. He said that our former Prime Minister, the respected Atal Bihari Vajpayee, understood the plight of the tribals of Chhattisgarh, and Chhattisgarh came into existence as a new state with a tribal majority. Shri Sai said that Atal Ji also formed a separate ministry for the welfare of tribals and ensured the proper utilization of the funds being sent by the central government for the welfare of tribals. New dimensions of development were established in Chhattisgarh only through the efforts of Atal Ji.
Chief Minister Shri Sai said that with the aim that no one should go hungry in the state, former Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh implemented the PDS system on a large scale in the state and made food grains available to people at cheap rates. He started the purchase of forest produce at support price, which worked to strengthen the tribals economically.
Chief Minister Shri Sai said that minor forest produce is available in sufficient quantity in Chhattisgarh. A total of 67 types of minor forest produce are being collected, processed, and sold through women self-help groups. Taking advantage of the promotional policies related to forest produce by our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the sisters of self-help groups are becoming economically strong.
Chief Minister Shri Sai especially thanked Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the PM-JANMAN Yojana and the Dharti Aaba Tribal Village Upliftment Campaign, which are being run for the livelihood and upliftment of particularly vulnerable tribal groups. He said that Scheduled Tribe-dominated villages are being benefited by these schemes. On this occasion, Shri Sai shared information about the various schemes being run by the Government of Chhattisgarh for the upliftment of tribal communities.
Chief Minister Shri Sai said that this joint workshop of NITI Aayog and the Forest Department will help in strengthening the economic condition of the tribal community along with connecting them with technology and innovation.
Forest Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap said that a one-day workshop has been organized today with the cooperation of NITI Aayog on a relevant and important topic. Forest Minister Shri Kashyap said that the implementation of the schemes being run for the tribal community is now happening rapidly and the systems in the forest areas have now been strengthened. He emphasized the proper utilization of forest resources along with environmental balance and talked about employment generation.
Advisor of NITI Aayog Shri Surendra Mehta, Principal Secretary Shri Sonmani Bora, and Forest Force Chief Shri V. Shrinivas Rao shared their views in the workshop. On this occasion, APCCF Smt. Shalini Raina, Director of NITI Aayog Shri Amit Verma, senior officers of the Forest Department, and intellectuals, subject experts, and officers from Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, and other states were present.
Chief Minister Shri Sai inspected the forest produce-based stalls