In a development indicating the rising stature of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put him in charge of a monitoring group for various government schemes and tracking the implementation of the announcements in Union Budget 2024.
Chouhan is the Union Agriculture Minister and the Union Minister of Rural Development.
Government sources said the reconstituted monitoring group is now chaired by Chouhan, and Minister of the State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Jitendra Singh. The first meeting of this group was held on October 4 in the South Block.
The group has been given five clear mandates. This includes monitoring various announcements made by PM since 2014 that are available on the PM portal, reviewing projects for which foundation stone was laid by the PM, overseeing implementation of announcements made in the Budget, ensuring rules (subordinate legislation) are framed for laws brought in by the government, and reviewing the progress of big infrastructure projects across the country.
All government secretaries are part of the same group. So far, the group has met once this month On October 4 where the discussion is said to have focussed on implementation of Budget announcements.
Chouhan comes with a rich administrative experience, given he was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for 16 years before he was brought to the Centre in the present government. The monitoring group is to meet once every month at South Block to track the progress of various schemes or projects announced by the PM, big ongoing infrastructure projects, budget announcements, and ensure rules are framed in time for various laws brought in by the Modi government.
Chouhan is also a part of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. He had the longest term as the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister since 2005 for almost 16 years. During his innings in the state, Chouhan transformed the agriculture sector in the state with irrigation seeing a major boost, enabling the BJP to regain power in the state multiple times. He also effectively rolled out the popular ‘Ladli Behan Yojana’ in the state just before the assembly elections in 2023, that led to a big win.
The Prime Minister’s Office has a Monitoring and Coordination Cell that tracks the progress of various government announcements.
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