Chandigarh, May 2 – Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal, while advising the leaders of the opposition parties to desist from political mongering in this hour of Corona crisis said that we all must face this Pandemic unitedly. He said that in the all-party meeting, held through video conferencing, every leader had assured full support to the Government in its efforts to combat Corona, yet it is very unfortunate to see that some are still busy in playing politics.
The Chief Minister was interacting with people of the Sate during the 'Haryana Aaj' program, today.
The Chief Minister said in the battle of Corona, health department and the people of the state have supported the government by meticulously following social distancing norms, for which they deserve praise. As a result of these efforts, the spread of COVID-19 infection has been controlled to a large extent in Haryana.
Slamming Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja for questioning the decisions taken in recent Cabinet meeting regarding increasing tax on petrol/diesel, bus fare hike and imposing market fee on fruits and vegetables, the Chief Minister said that it is very unfortunate that in this hour of crisis, Congress leaders are busy in unnecessarily politicizing the State Government’s decisions.
Taking a dig at Randeep Singh Surjewala, Chief Minister said that Randeep Singh Surjewala has no moral authority to question the State Government. People of the state, social institutions, all Ministers, MLAs and former MLAs have come forward to make their contributions in the Haryana Corona Relief Fund. Randeep Singh Surjewala is receiving monthly pension worth Rs. 1 lakh 68 thousand from Haryana Vidhan Sabha and during his last five year tenure as an MLA, he attended the sessions seven times only, and received an amount of Rs. 1 crore 12 lakh. He said that such statements have exposed his political immaturity. He said that in this hour of crisis millions of food packets and ration are being distributed to poor people but he is not aware whether Randeep Surjewala has made any personal contribution or not.
Taking jibe at Congress, the Chief Minister said that the State Government had previously also corrected the mistakes made by the Congress Government in their last 10 years tenure and is still doing the same. He said that during their tenure, Congress had filed affidavit about the guest teachers in the Supreme Court that they would not keep guest teachers in service even for a day, while our government not only retained the services of guest teachers but also paid Rs 4 thousand crore for the same.
He said that due to COVID-19 the economic activities have almost come to a standstill, because of which for the last two months, revenue receipts have been small and about Rs. 10,000 crore is required to pay the employees’ salaries, pension and other expenses of the government.
He said that in the Cabinet Meeting held on April 30, 2020, we had taken some decisions to generate revenue and the State is expected to earn revenue of about 70 to 80 crore. He said that the Cabinet has decided to increase VAT by Re. 1 per liter diesel and Re. 1.10 per liter petrol, increasing bus fare by 15 paise per kilometer and imposing 2 per cent tax on vegetables and fruits in Mandis. However, the opposition parties are politicizing this issue, despite the fact that in all party meeting they had assured to support the government unconditionally. He said that as a government, we are working as trustees of the public and revenue collection will be used for public welfare and in the public interest only.
He said that in the same way, the Cabinet has decided that to provide financial assistance to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) so that they could pay wages to their employees. The State Government has decided to give loan facility to the MSME and will grant interest benefit on loan taken by MSME for a six month period. This will put an additional financial burden of about Rs. 250 crore on the government, he added.
He said that 25 percent exemption in fixed charges on commercial and industrial power connections has been granted with a provision of paying the remaining 75 percent amount in easy installments till December 2020. He said that a financial assistance of Rs. 1000 has been given to the needy every week, thereby financially supporting about 15 lakh people in the State. Similarly, Distress Ration till June, 30, 2020, is being given to the needy people free of cost, he added.
While appealing to the migrant labourers to stay back in the State, Chief Minister said that it is understandable that they might be feeling home sick but with the commencement of industrial activities, their employment will be restored and therefore, instead of returning to their home states, they should stay back in Haryana and earn their livelihood. The State Government is committed to provide all the necessary food and lodging arrangements for all such migrant labourers, the Chief Minister assured.
He said that transport arrangements would be made for all the stranded pilgrims and tourists from other states who got stuck in Haryana due to the lockdown, so that they can return to their respective states. He said that the State Government is also making arrangements to bring back the people of Haryana who are stranded in other states and for this , the District Administration has been directed to gather the data of all such people.
The Chief Minister apprised the people that procurement of mustard began from April 15 and wheat from April 20 and till today 4.02 lakh metric tonnes of mustard and 44 lakh metric tonnes of wheat have been procured, which is more than 60 percent of total yield of wheat. He said that at the present rate the procurement process might even be completed before the set target date of June 30, 2020. He said that so far an amount of Rs 450 crore has been paid to the farmers for mustard and Rs 283 crore for wheat.
The Chief Minister said in order to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, Centre has extended the nationwide lockdown by two more weeks i.e till May 17, 2020. He expressed hope that the people of Haryana will cooperate with the government and will abide by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s advice of maintaining social distancing.
He further said that during lockdown-3.0, industrial and economic activities will be conducted on a daily basis with the cooperation of District Administration and Police in Green, Orange and Red Zones. He said that in the green zones, Haryana Roadways buses will be allowed to ply with 50 percent of the total passenger capacity. He said that running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions, places of large public gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes etc and other kinds of gatherings; and, religious places/ places of worship for public will remain closed. However all markets and shops will be opened provided they follow the social distancing strictly.
He said that buses will not be allowed to ply in the Orange zone, but all the remaining activities which have been permitted in the Green zone will be allowed in orange zone too. There will be ban on operation of barber shops, spa-saloons, autos, taxis etc. in the red zone. Only movement of essential goods and services will be allowed in the Containment zone.
He said that in all zones, it has been advised that people above 65 years of age and children below the age of 10 years, shall stay at home. Further, movement of individuals, for all non essential activities, shall remain strictly prohibited between 7 pm to 7 am.