Chandigarh, May 4 - Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal has appealed to the farmers of the state that after harvesting the Rabi crop now is the time to prepare for the sowing of Kharif crops. With the objective of saving water for future generations and for giving more momentum to the 'Jal Hi Jeevan Hai' campaign, the Chief Minister, exhorted the farmers to adopt crop diversification and sow crops which consume less water like Maize, Arhar, sesame, Guar, Moong, etc, instead of Rice.

Giving detailed information about this, the Chief Minister said that the dark zone, depleting level of groundwater and its excessive exploitation has become a challenge for us and we have started to solve these challenges for the coming generations. It is believed that if there will be a third world war, it will be for water. Therefore, we have to conserve water for future generations from now onwards. I believe that if we have to leave something for the future generation in our life, then there is nothing better than water, he added.

The Chief Minister said that he had already made this appeal while talking to the leaders of various farmers’ associations of the State to encourage the farmers to adopt crop diversification and sow crops consuming less water.

The Chief Minister informed that in this direction, the Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Department is also preparing new schemes for water conservation and suggestions have been invited from farmer leaders and progressive farmers. He said that he has also called upon the farmers to send their suggestions to the department.

The Chief Minister said that he expresses gratitude to the farmers of the State for initiating 'Crop Diversification Pilot Scheme' to grow maize, arhar and other crops in place of paddy in 50,000 hectare- areas in paddy dominated districts. He informed that now this area has been expanded to an area of 1,00,000 hectares. The farmers have to make up their mind before making preparations for sowing the upcoming Kharif crop, they should decide that alternative crops other than paddy should be sown so that we can ensure water conservation for future generations, he added.

Mr. Manohar Lal said that we have to give this message to the general public that if we want to save water, then instead of sowing paddy, they should grow crops from which they can generate equal income.

The Chief Minister said that Gram Panchayat Pentawas Kalan in District Charkhi Dadri has passed a resolution not to sow paddy crop in their village, which itself is a big decision for any Panchayat and has set an example for other panchayats of the state.

The Chief Minister appealed to the farmer that the Panchayats who have given their panchayat land on contract should also appeal to the tenants to sow maize, arhar, and other crops in place of paddy and contribute to make the campaign ‘Jal Hi Jeevan Hai’ successful. He said that farmers should understand that growing one kilogram of paddy consumes 3000 to 5000 liters of water. He said that due to Corona Pandemic, this time, the availability of migrant labourers for planting paddy has become a major problem.

The Chief Minister also appealed to the farmers that instead of paddy, they should also grow Dhaincha crop after harvesting wheat. Dhaincha crop, which is used for fodder as well as green manure, increases the fertility of the land. The Chief Minister informed that 29000 quintal Dhaincha crop seeds have been made available by the department through Haryana Seed Corporation. Therefore, the willing farmers should take the Dhaincha seeds from the centers of Haryana Seed Development Corporation after visiting mandis for procurement of wheat.