Despite celebrating ‘Sushasan Tihar’, a festival of good governance, over 4,300 jobless youth in Chhattisgarh filed formal appeals for employment, exposing a harsh reality: governance without ground-level delivery.
The state has over 16.24 lakh registered unemployed youth, yet no government job appointments were made between January 2024 and June 2025. The government claims private sector placements—6,279 in 2024 and only 883 in mid-2025—but has provided no data on salary, job type, or sustainability.
Satish Nishad from Durg has been preparing for a teaching post since 2015. “The 2023 BJP manifesto promised 57,000 teaching jobs. Now it’s down to 22,464. None filled,” he says. In Janjgir, Manju Thakre faces societal pressure to marry but holds out hope for a job. Many, like Sulochani Kumbhkar, say Hindi-medium candidates are neglected, even by private schools.
Durg district leads with 1.13 lakh job seekers, followed by Bilaspur (1.05 lakh) and Janjgir-Champa (1 lakh). Yet, the government admits it has “no employment data.”
Congress MLA Sheshraj Harwansh criticized the administration: “They chant slogans about youth and women, but show zero action.” Deputy CM Vijay Sharma, when questioned, offered no clear answer, only postponement.
Meanwhile, desperation is driving youth out of the state. In December 2024, over 40 tribal youth returned ill—some fatally—from factory work in Hyderabad. Their search for livelihood ended in tragedy, symbolizing a crisis of neglect and broken promises.