Chhattisgarh cabinet clears bill to curb forced religious conversions

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.

• Chhattisgarh cabinet approves bill to prevent forced conversions
• State subsidy of Rs 1.5 lakh for solar high-mast plants approved
• Cess on property registration to be abolished in Chhattisgarh

Did our AI summary help?

The Chhattisgarh cabinet on Tuesday approved the draft of a bill aimed at preventing religious conversion through force, inducement, fraudulent means or misrepresentation.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai at the premises of the Legislative Assembly in Nava Raipur Atal Nagar, where the budget session is currently on.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao said the cabinet approved the draft of the Chhattisgarh Dharm Swantantraya Vidheyak, 2026 (Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026), which seeks to effectively curb conversion from one faith to another through force, allurement, undue influence or false representation.

The bill is likely to be introduced in the ongoing budget session of the assembly.

Currently, the Chhattisgarh Dharm Swantantraya Adhiniyam (Freedom of Religion Act), 1968, is in force in the state, which came into existence on November 1, 2000.

The cabinet also approved withdrawal of 13 cases related to political protests, a decision based on the recommendations of a ministerial sub-committee formed to review such matters, Sao stated.

In another decision, the cabinet gave nod to a proposal to determine grant rates for projects and plants based on non-conventional energy sources, he said.

Under the proposal, the Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) will provide a state subsidy of Rs 1.5 lakh for solar high-mast plants in 2024-25 and 2025-26. For 2026-27 and subsequent years, the subsidy will be 30 per cent of the tender rate or Rs 1.5 lakh, whichever is lower, Sao informed.

For domestic biogas plants with a capacity of 2 to 6 cubic metres, a subsidy of Rs 9,000 per unit has been proposed for 2024-25 and 2025-26, and the same amount for all capacities from 2026'-27 onwards, he stated.

Among other decisions, the cabinet cleared drafts of the Chhattisgarh Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Chhattisgarh Housing Board Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

It also approved the Chhattisgarh Staff Selection Board Bill, 2026, under which a staff selection board will be set up to conduct examinations and select candidates for technical and non-technical Group C and Group D posts in various state government offices.

The cabinet also cleared the draft of the Chhattisgarh Public Recruitment and Professional Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2026, aimed at ensuring greater transparency, fairness and credibility in public examination systems, he added.

It approved the draft of the Chhattisgarh Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which will abolish the cess levied on property registration.

It may be noted that in 2023, an additional cess of 12 per cent - over and above the applicable stamp duty on property transfer - was imposed to finance the Rajiv Gandhi Mitan Club scheme launched by the then-Congress government.

As the scheme is currently not operational, it has been decided to remove the additional cess on registration, Sao added.