By Biswendu Bhattacharjee
Agartala, Mar 9 (UNI) Tripura has seen the creation of huge employment opportunities in non-government sectors and an immense scope of entrepreneurship over the past two years since the second BJP-led government was formed in 2023, Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Sunday.
"A huge employment opportunity in non-government sectors and scope of entrepreneurship have been created in two years," Saha said in an interview to UNI.
Saturday was the second anniversary of the formation of the government after BJP retained power in the north eastern state.
BJP came to power in Tripura in 2018 by ending 25 years of CPI(M)-headed Left Front rule. Biplab Deb was then sworn in as the Chief Minister, but the party high command replaced him with Saha in 2022. Under Saha's leadership, BJP won the Assembly polls in 2023, and he took oath as CM for the second time on March 8 that year.
The dentist-turned-politician said a transparent recruitment policy saw 5,972 regular employment in government departments in the last two years, while another 8,252 were under process.
Saha said Tripura’s growth has seen a significant push following the implementation of inclusive development plans of the second BJP-led government.
"This is a follow-up of the development model we unveiled after coming to power in 2018. The model is based on the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said the 72-year-old leader.

Saha observed that the slow pace of development seen in Tripura before BJP came to power was because of the lack of vision and perspective of the communists who ruled the tiny state in two phases from 1978 to 1988 and then from 1993 to 2018. A Congress-Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti (TUJS) coalition government was in power from 1988 to 1993.
Comparing the development achieved in the state under BJP rule to the situation that existed earlier, Saha said 4000 houses for the poor were built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana between 1993 and 2018 when the Left Front was in the saddle. "But in seven years of BJP rule, the figure has risen to 1,83,461. Now the Prime Minister has made it demand-driven, so that no one is left without a roofed house".
Saha said after the Left Front came to power in 1993, no one from Tripura got any civilian award because of their "narrow political mindset". However, in seven years of BJP rule, at least nine Padma Shri awards have been conferred to the legendary personalities of Tripura, including six indigenous celebrities, he reminded.
“Because of the lack of access to purified water, people across the state during left regime had to walk long distances to fetch water and also suffered badly from water-borne diseases. The government was unable to improve the situation. As soon as we came to power, we prioritised the supply of safe drinking water to house-level and now 1,81,177 households have got access to pure drinking water under Jal Jeevan Mission, that enhanced sanitation and hygiene - directly contributed to community health,” he said.
He pointed out that the state's per capita income has surged to Rs 1,77,723 in 2023-24 from Rs 1,13,016 in 2018-19, indicating a robust economic growth in the state. A direct financial assistance of Rs 287.16 crore was extended to 2,39,875 farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, besides facilitating direct procurement of paddy from the farmers at an impressive support price.
“Tripura has been producing the best quality pineapple and scented lemon for a long time, but the communist government never thought of scaling up their production to support the farmers. After BJP government was formed in 2018, export of these items and many other horticulture products began. In the last few years, demand for Tripura pineapple and lemon increased manifold, increasing the cultivation and business,” the Chief Minister maintained.
He further stated that since 2023, around 81,344 families in the state have benefited from free LPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, reducing dependence on traditional chulha.
The government facilitated enrollment of about 20.56 lakh people under Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, and Mukhyamantri Jan Arogya Yojana, ensuring quality healthcare, and by the time, over 4.30 lakh individuals availed the benefits, he said.
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