Chief Minister attended the assumption of charge and felicitation ceremony of the newly appointed Chairman of Chhattisgarh Plant Board, Shri Vikas Markam
Raipur, May 3, 2025/ Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai today attended as the chief guest the assumption of charge and felicitation ceremony of the newly appointed Chairman of the Chhattisgarh Tribal Local Health Tradition and Medicinal Plant Board, Shri Vikas Markam, at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium in the capital Raipur. On this occasion, he congratulated and wished Shri Markam well for his new responsibility.
Addressing the assumption of charge ceremony, Chief Minister Shri Sai said that an awareness campaign about medicinal plants will be conducted in the Bastar and Surguja divisions through the Chhattisgarh Tribal Local Health Tradition and Medicinal Plant Board. He said that medicinal plants have many qualities, and along with this, there is a need to promote the planting of medicinal plants for better income. There are immense possibilities in Bastar and Surguja. The board needs to work further in this direction.
Chief Minister Shri Sai said that our Baiga-Guniya and Vaidyas have been identifying forest medicines and treating people since ancient times. He said that Dr. Raman Singh ji had formed the Chhattisgarh Tribal, Local Health Tradition and Medicinal Plant Board for the betterment of Baigas, Vaidyas and human health service. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has honored Shri Hemchand Manjhi, a traditional Vaidya of Orchha in Chhattisgarh’s Abujhmad, with the Padma Shri for his outstanding work in the field of medicinal plants.
Tribal Caste Development Minister Shri Ramvichar Netam said that with the objectives for which the Chhattisgarh Tribal, Local Health Tradition and Medicinal Plant Board was formed, Shri Markam will definitely be able to fulfill those objectives under his leadership. The board needs to work on collecting the knowledge of Vaidyas and the experiences of forest medicines and preparing a database so that this data can be used for the betterment of society and human health.
Forest and Climate Change Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap said that Chhattisgarh is the oxygen zone of the country. The Chhattisgarh Tribal, Local Health Tradition and Medicinal Plant Board has the important responsibility of conservation and promotion of forest medicines. Our government is working better for the villagers living in the forest. In Chhattisgarh, forest produce is purchased at a support price of Rs 5500 per standard bag, which benefits tendu leaf collectors. Along with this, 67 types of forest produce are also purchased. Former Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sameer Uraon and the newly appointed Chairman of the Plant Board, Shri Vikas Markam, also addressed the assumption of charge and felicitation ceremony.
On this occasion, Raipur Lok Sabha MP Shri Brijmohan Agrawal, Rajya Sabha MP Shri Devendra Pratap Singh, MLAs Sarvshri Rajesh Munat, Moti Lal Sahu, Gajendra Yadav, Neelkanth Tekam, Pranav Marpachi, along with chairpersons of various boards and commissions, officers and employees of Chhattisgarh Tribal, Local Health Tradition and Medicinal Plant Board and a large number of dignitaries including Vaidyas and Ayurveda Acharyas were present.