Birthday boy Raman Singh says Chhattisgarh to be power hub

July 20th, 2009 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh assembly witnessed uproarious scenes on the first day of the monsoon session Monday and was later adjourned for the day as opposition Congress members demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Raman Singh over the July 12 Maoist attack. The 38 Congress legislators in the 90-member house displayed paper-sheets bearing slogans such as "Raman Singh Istifa Do" (Raman Singh, Resign) and "Yeh Sarkar Nikammi Hai" (This government is incompetent).

July 19th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Sunday rejected reports that spurt in Maoist violence in the state was basically due to failure of intelligence network. Singh, who travelled Sunday to the site in Rajnandgaon district where Maoists killed 29 state policemen in an ambush July 12, said police had prior information of Maoists' possible attack in the district but police suffered casualties as it was a "well coordinated flash attack" of the rebels.

July 11th, 2009 RAIPUR - India's largest power producer NTPC, formerly National Thermal Power Corp, Sunday signed an agreement with the Chhattisgarh government for setting up a 4,000 MW coal-fired power plant on an investment of Rs.20,000 crore. Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who was present during signing of the pact, said the plant would be set up in the coal-rich Raigarh district.

June 23rd, 2009 RAIPUR - Decks have been cleared for the 4,000-MW ultra mega power project (UMPP) in Chhattisgarh as the central government has finally approved the project, ending months-long controversy. The government, which had earlier selected Chhattisgarh as one of the five states for setting up UMPPs, reportedly rejected the project last August as the state government stuck to its demand for 50 percent of power at "invariable cost" from the project.

June 1st, 2009 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh government Monday announced that it will provide free electricity to farmers using irrigation pumps under five horse power capacity. The scheme, which will cost the state exchequer an estimated Rs.150 crore annually, will come into effect from Aug 15 this year, an official statement said.

May 4th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Terming Manmohan Singh a weak prime minister, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Monday accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of not taking strict steps to fight terrorism. 'Under the leadership of a weak prime minister, the Congress-led UPA government has failed completely in combating terrorism,' he said at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri district.

April 8th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Wednesday rejected allegations by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi that the state government had misused funds provided by the central government under various welfare schemes. 'The allegations by the Congress MP Gandhi against Chhattisgarh for misuse of central funds lack facts,' Singh told a press conference at the state's northern city Ambikapur.

April 2nd, 2009 RAIPUR - The Lok Sabha polls in Chhattisgarh may prove to be an acid test for Chief Minister Raman Singh, who was widely credited for the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the assembly elections last year. Many are asking if 'Brand Raman' - based on clean image and popularity of the chief minister - will work its magic again when the state's 11 parliamentary constituencies go to the polls April 16.

March 30th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will stage road shows in all 11 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state from April 1. Party sources said Singh will travel in a special mini-bus in all constituencies and address at least five public meetings in each constituency besides holding road shows till campaigning ends April 14 for the state, which goes to polls April 16.

March 9th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said here Monday that he was sure the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would sweep the April 16 Lok Sabha elections in the state. 'The BJP has been in power in the state since December 2003 and pulled off the best performance in the 2004 general election.

February 12th, 2009 RAIPUR - The interim railway budget presented Friday by Railways Minister Lalu Prasad has let down expectations of Chhattisgarh despite the fact that the state generates high revenue for the railways, Chief minister Raman Singh said here. 'The interim rail budget is disappointing, it has let down expectations of millions of people of Chhattisgarh,' said Singh in his reaction to the interim budget.

February 5th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh skipped the three-day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive meeting that began in Nagpur Friday as his mother passed away at a private hospital here. Sudha Singh, 84, died early Friday at the Ramkrishna Care Hospital where she had been since mid-December after she slipped into a coma at her native town Kawardha, some 125 km from here.

January 17th, 2009 RAIPUR - In an attempt to end the power crisis in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh will supply about 300 MW electricity to the southern state, an official said Sunday. 'We have formally approved the Karnataka government's request.

January 17th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh will start generating up to 700 MW power over the next three years using dust from coal washeries, Chief Minister Raman Singh said Sunday. Speaking at the two-day convention on 'Energy security from renewable energy sources' here, he said the country can narrow the widening demand-supply power gap by looking into options to generate power from non-conventional sources.

December 22nd, 2008 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Tuesday appointed nine legislators of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as parliamentary secretaries with minister of state rank - seen as a move to stem dissension among the newly-elected members. The nine are Siyaram Sahu, Komal Janghel, Bhaiyalal Rajwade, Bharat Sai, Omprakash Rathia, Vijay Baghel, Sidhnath Paikra, Mahesh Gagra and Yudhvir Singh Judeo.