Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) [India], March 30 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker Raman Singh commended the development effort of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai in light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Bilaspur, during which he laid the foundation stone and inaugurated several development projects.

Speaking to ANI, Singh said, 'Our Chief Minister is steadily fulfilling the guarantees made by PM Modi. Development had come to a standstill during the tenure of the Bhupesh Baghel government, but under CM Vishnu Deo Sai's leadership, the state is now witnessing a leap of progress.'

The Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker also expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister, saying, 'We came here to thank PM Modi for the numerous gifts he has brought to Chhattisgarh through these initiatives.'

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched several major development projects in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur, worth over Rs 33,700 crore, spanning sectors such as power, oil and gas, rail, road, education and housing.

PM Modi also distributed keys to beneficiaries under the PM Awas Yojana.

The Prime Minister also flagged off the MEMU train service on the Abhanpur-Raipur rail section and dedicated the complete electrification of the Indian Railways network in the state.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone of NTPC's Sipat Super Thermal Power Project Stage-III (1x800MW) in Bilaspur, worth over Rs 9,790 crore. He also dedicated three power transmission projects of POWERGRID under the Western Region Expansion Scheme (WRES) worth over Rs 560 crore.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)'s City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Korea, Surajpur, Balrampur and Surguja districts. Besides, he laid the foundation stone of the Visakh-Raipur Pipeline (VRPL) project of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), spanning 540 km and worth over Rs 2210 crore.

He also announced the upgrading of the Kondagaon-Narayanpur section of NH-130D (47.5 km) to two lanes with a paved shoulder. The Prime Minister also dedicated two flagship educational initiatives: 130 PM SHRI schools across 29 districts in the state and the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) at Raipur. (ANI)