Chandigarh, July 9 - Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal while attending the 30th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council, chaired by Union Home and Cooperation Minister, Sh. Amit Shah at Jaipur, strongly raised several important issues of the State including the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal, appointment of members in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), restoration of Haryana's share in Panjab University, and a new additional building for the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.  

The Chief Minister said that the 30th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council would be helpful in promoting cooperative federalism as well as in resolving various issues of inter-state and between the Center and the states in a time-bound manner.  

Sh. Manohar Lal said that though Haryana is a small state in the country in terms of area and population, but it has a significant contribution to the country's economy. The per capita income of the state is Rs 2,74,635, which is the highest among the big states of the country. Also, on the parameters of economic growth rate, Haryana is also among the leading states in the country. The State is ranked second in the country and first in North India in providing logistics facilities to industries, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

*Punjab not taking any further action on SYL issue: Manohar Lal*

The Chief Minister said that the completion of the construction work of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal is a long pending and serious issue between the states of Haryana and Punjab. Due to the non-completion of the SYL Canal, surplus, un-channeled water of Ravi, Sutlej and Beas goes to Pakistan.  

He further shared that Haryana has also been allotted a 3.50 million acre-feet share in the surplus water of Ravi-Beas as per the order of the Government of India dated March 24, 1976. 

As per the decision taken in the meeting of the Union Jal Shakti Minister on August 18, 2020, with the Chief Ministers of both the states on the direction of the Supreme Court to resolve the issue, Punjab is not taking further action, added the Chief Minister. 

*Meeting of the Chief Ministers of both the states should be held soon regarding SYL issues*

The Chief Minister said that through a semi-official letter dated May 6, 2022, he had requested the Union Minister of Jal Shakti to convene the second-round meeting of the Chief Ministers of both the states at the earliest to discuss this issue. Besides this, he had written a semi-official letter to Home Minister, Sh. Amit Shah, requesting to organize a meeting of the Chief Ministers of both the states. 

Sh. Manohar Lal said that earlier he had also written three semi-official letters to the Punjab Chief Minister for this meeting, but no response was received from his side. Now that the new government has come in Punjab, therefore, the Home Minister is again requested to hold this meeting at the earliest and the Supreme Court should also be informed about its findings, said the Chief Minister. 

Sh. Manohar Lal stressed that this water is very important for Haryana. On one hand, we are not getting this water, while on the other, Delhi is demanding more water from us, asserted the Chief Minister. 

*Haryana is getting less water from Bhakra main line canal*

In the meeting, Sh. Manohar Lal also raised the issue of getting 700-1000 cusecs of less water even from the Bhakra main line canal. He said that on this issue, a committee consisting of Chief Engineers and officers of BBMB from the participating States has also found that Haryana has been given less distribution of water at the BML contact point Rd. 390000. This committee has now suggested the appointment of a third agency with the latest discharge measurement techniques to lay the gauge/discharge curve for the entire distribution system from the head to all the contact points in the participating states. In addition, SCADA systems can be installed at various contact points so that the actual data from the gauges can be viewed by all the participating states. Therefore, RTDAS should be installed in place of the old manual gauge. BBMB has requested the Central Water Commission to take up this work. The Commission should be directed to complete it in a time-bound manner within the next two months.

*Member (Irrigation) in Bhakra Beas Management Board should be from Haryana* 

Highlighting the issue of appointment of members in Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the Chief Minister said that the previous tradition of nominating Member (Irrigation) from Haryana should be continued on similar lines of the nomination of member (power) in BBMB from Punjab. If there is interference in the processes which is going on for the last about 56 years, it will affect the interests of Haryana, especially in the context of Sutlej- Beas river water sharing. If the permanent members of the BBMB are from outside the participating states, they will not be able to understand local issues and problems. Therefore, in addition to appointing Member (Irrigation) from Haryana and Member (Electricity) from Punjab, a third member (Personnel) can also be appointed to the Board. This third member may be appointed alternately from Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh said Sh. Manohar Lal. 

*Demand for amendment in rules to restore Haryana's share in Panjab University*

The Chief Minister said in the meeting of the Northern Zonal Council that the share of Haryana in Panjab University should be restored and the colleges of Haryana adjoining Chandigarh should also be affiliated with this University. Haryana's share in Panjab University was granted under the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966. It was abolished by the Union Home Ministry by issuing a notification on November 1, 1973. Earlier the colleges of the erstwhile Ambala district of Haryana were affiliated to this University. Therefore, the Home Minister is requested to amend the rules to restore the share of Haryana State in Panjab University, said Sh. Manohar Lal. 

*Haryana should be given complete share in the existing Vidhan Sabha Building*

Referring to the new additional building for Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Chief Minister Manohar Lal said that a new delimitation is proposed in the year 2026, on the basis of which Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections will be held in the year 2029. It is estimated that according to the population of Haryana in the new delimitation, the number of assembly constituencies will be 126 and the number of Lok Sabha constituencies will be 14.  

At present, there are 90 MLAs in the Haryana Legislative Assembly. There is not enough space available in the existing building to even accommodate these 90 MLAs. Not only this, but it is also not possible to expand this building, because it is a heritage building. It is, therefore, requested that sufficient space may be given in Chandigarh for the construction of a new additional building for the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, said Sh. Manohar Lal. 

Apart from this, it is also requested that the entire share of Haryana should be provided in the existing building also. Even after 56 years have passed, we have not got our complete rights. The 24,630 square feet area in the Vidhan Sabha building was given to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Secretariat. But the 20 rooms that came to our share are still in the possession of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. There is not enough space for our employees as well as for meetings of legislators, ministers and committees. Therefore, we have demanded land from the Chandigarh Administration to construct an additional building for the smooth functioning of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha. The land has also been identified for this. The Home Minister is requested to intervene in this matter and get us land for the additional building of Haryana Vidhan Sabha, said the Chief Minister.

*Haryana is committed to speedy construction of National Highway-105*

Sh. Manohar Lal said that the present State Government is committed to the speedy construction of National Highway-105 connecting Haryana with Himachal Pradesh. The length of this project is 31.71 km, out of which 13.30 km falls in Haryana. We are fully cooperating with the National Highways Authority of India in completing this project. 

For this project, 18.6399 hectares of private land has been acquired by the District Revenue Officer, Panchkula. The work has started after taking possession of the land. The announcement of awards for the felling of trees and structures is under process. The first phase clearance has been obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the second phase clearance is also likely to be received soon, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister said that 1731 km long roads have been constructed in Haryana in three phases under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana and construction work is going on for 175 km long roads. In the third phase of this scheme, approval has recently been received for the construction of 590 km long additional roads. The work for which is being allocated.

*The concern expressed by Chandigarh regarding the eco-sensitive zone is not correct in the context of Haryana*

The Chief Minister said that around 72 percent of the area to be included in the Eco-Sensitive Zone around Sukhna Sanctuary in Haryana is already notified forest area under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. About 9 percent is in the defense sector, so it is related to national security. About 19 percent is in the private area, notified under section 4 of the Punjab Land Conservation Act. The restrictions in the notified forest area under the Indian Forest Act are more stringent than those imposed under eco-sensitive zones. The defense sector is also protected from the dangers of any unplanned development. There exists regulation of felling of trees in the private sector and no tree can be felled without explicit approval from the Forest Department. Thus, restrictions exist even in the private sector that prevents unplanned activities. In view of the above, the concern expressed by the Union Territory of Chandigarh in respect of Haryana is not correct. As far as the notification of the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) on the Haryana side is concerned, a proposal for the same is being prepared and sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India soon, said the Chief Minister.

*The government ensured good governance through system change*

The Chief Minister said we have ensured good governance through system change. The State Government has started 'Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana' to raise the standard of living of the poorest people. Under this campaign, the poorest families will be identified and efforts will be made to increase their annual income upto at least Rs 1.80 lakh. 

The government has facilitated the purchase of crops through the ‘Meri Fasal-Mera Byora’ e-Kharid portal. On this portal, farmers will be able to sell their crops as well as get financial assistance for fertilizers, seeds, loans and agricultural equipment sitting at home. The purchase of crops of farmers who have registered on this portal is done on a priority basis. A total of 9.25 lakh farmers are registered on this. Apart from this, 'Auto Appeal Software' (AAS) has been started to fix the accountability of the administration towards the public and ensure timely service delivery. With this, 292 services of 29 Departments, Corporations and Boards have been connected.

If the applicants do not get the service within the stipulated time, their appeal automatically goes to the higher authority. If there is no service on time, then the appeal to the Right to Service Commission also goes automatically. This has fixed the accountability of the employees and officers.

*73 percent reduction in crop residue burning cases in Haryana*

Sh. Manohar Lal said that burning crop residues is not only harmful to the environment but also to the fertility of the soil. Therefore, along with taking action in such cases, we have also made the farmers aware. Our efforts in this regard have also been appreciated by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. According to their report, there has been a 73 percent reduction in the burning of crop residues since the year 2016. To control stubble burning, we have provided free decomposer capsules to the farmers. Till now 3,19,350 acres have been covered with decomposer technology. The target is to cover 5 lakh acres of land with decomposers during Kharif-2022.

The State Government has made a provision of incentive amount of Rs 1000 per acre for not burning stubble and making stubble bales for its proper management. For the management of crop residue, 50 percent subsidy is given on equipment and 80 percent for custom hiring centres so that farmers do not have to burn these residues. 

In the last four years, about 73 thousand machines have been given to farmers with a subsidy of Rs 584 crore. In the villages located in the Red Zone area, a cash prize of up to Rs 10 lakh is given to the Panchayat as an incentive for not burning the stubble. Apart from this, stubble is also being used in biomass plants. 5 lakh tonnes of paddy husks are being used in 9 biomass power projects in the state. Two more such plants will be commissioned this year.

The meeting was attended by Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sh. Jai Ram Thakur, Lieutenant Governor, Jammu and Kashmir, Sh. Manoj Sinha, UT Administrator, Sh. Banwarilal Purohit, Lieutenant Governor, Ladakh, Sh. R.K. Mathur, Lieutenant Governor, Delhi, Sh. Vinay Kumar Saxena and Rajasthan Chief Minister, Sh. Ashok Gehlot.

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*Haryana to get land in Chandigarh for the additional Vidhan Sabha building, announces Home Minister*

While accepting the request made by, Sh. Manohar Lal, Union Home Minister Sh. Amit Shah announced that Haryana would be given land in Chandigarh for the construction of additional Vidhan Sabha building .