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Chandigarh August 15 : On the occasion of Independence Day today, Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal announced a string of incentives for the people of the State. This includes 24-hour power supply in additional 200 villages under 'Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon scheme, thus raising the total number of such villages in the State to 4838, Parivar Pehchan Patra to 20 lakh families by the end of this month, 3000 play-way schools for children, of which 1000 schools are to be opened this year, and opening of 82 new Sanskriti Model Schools in the State. He also announced that 242 villages would be made free from Lal Dora by October 2, 2020.
Mr Manohar Lal was speaking after unfurling the National Flag on the occasion of 74th Independence Day celebrations at Panchkula today. On this occasion, he also congratulated the people on the foundation day of district Panchkula. He said that on this day in 1995, Panchkula became the 17th district of Haryana.
While stating that the present State government has taken many historical steps towards empowering half the population of the society that is WOMEN so that they can get the right to equality in a real manner, the Chief Minister said that the recent decision to ensure 50 percent participation of women in panchayats is a major step towards women empowerment.
While unfolding the vision of his government for the State, Mr Manohar Lal said that it would have such a system in which people need not visit government offices to get the benefit of government schemes and programmes, rather the government would ensure that they get the benefits at their doorstep. For this, all welfare services and schemes are being linked to Parivar Pehchan Patra , he said adding that 20 lakh families in the State would be provided Parivar Pehchan Patra by the end of August 2020.
He said that today is the sixth occasion, when he is hoisting the National flag on Independence Day. In the last five-and-a-half years, utilizing every moment to serve the people has been the focal point of the functioning of his government. He said we are moving forward with a clear goal of bringing about a revolutionary change in the system.
He said that since the beginning, we have adopted the policy of good governance through e-governance and zero tolerance towards corruption and have made most of the government schemes and services online. After taking the reign of the administration in the State in the year 2014, we had determined to provide government jobs in a fair and transparent manner on merit basis. Though many people doubted its success, but we have fulfilled our promise and have given more than 75,000 jobs to the youth purely on merit basis, asserted the Chief Minister.
While greeting the people on the occasion of 74th Independence Day today, Mr Manohar Lal said that August 15 is a day of great pride for all of us as after countless sacrifices and struggles; Indians won their freedom on August 15, 1947. Hailing the contribution of Haryanvis in the freedom movement of the country, he said that the brave sons of Haryana have made great sacrifices in protecting the borders of the country. It is a matter of pride that every 10th soldier in the Armed Forces of the country hails from Haryana.
He said that acknowledging the responsibility to take care of the families and dependents of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the motherland, the Haryana government is giving a monthly pension of Rs 25,000 to freedom fighters and their widows. Apart from this, we have also increased the ex-gratia amount to Rs 50 lakh for the family of soldiers who attained martyrdom during war. He said that the State Government has so far provided government jobs to 320 dependents of martyrs of Haryana. On this occasion, he also paid tributes to 20 soldiers who sacrificed their life while guarding the borders of the country in the Galwan Valley on June 18, 2020.
The Chief Minister said that Independence Day this year is important in many ways and the most important is that we are celebrating this occasion during a Pandemic. He said that though Corona has slowed down our pace but could not dampen our high spirits. He also expressed his gratitude to doctors, nurses and other medical staff, social workers, policemen, sanitation and anganwadi workers etc. who worked as Corona Warriors and have done great service to humanity by not caring for their lives in dealing with this Pandemic.
He said that this year’s Independence Day is also special as just 10 days before, Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya . With this, the wait of 500 years of people of the country also ended. He said that Ram Mandir symbolizes our devotion and it would continue to inspire the coming generations about faith, reverence and cultural uplift. He said that just a year before this, on August 5, the Prime Minister had taken a concrete step towards ‘Akhand Bharat’ by scraping Article 370 and 35-A from Jammu and Kashmir. Referring to the security arrangements, he said that new dimensions have been added to the security of the country. Not only did the girls get a permanent commission in the army, but the enemies have been given a befitting reply at the borders of the country. Apart from this, 5 Rafale jets reached us at Ambala Airbase on July 29, 2020 for nation-defence, which is equipped with ultra-modern technology weapons, he asserted.
Reiterating the commitment of his government for doubling the income of farmers by 2022, Mr Manohar Lal said that the three historic steps taken by the Central Government recently would prove to be significant in this direction. He said that while the amendment to Essential Commodities Act would prevent the wastage of produce by promoting storage facilities, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020 and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020, would enable the farmers to sell their produce in mandis or markets of their choice and also to do contract farming. Apart from this, it also empowers the farmers to sell their produce to anyone they want to at a better price, he said while welcoming all these steps.
He said that the State Government has started ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora Portal’ to make agriculture in Haryana risk-free and simplify the sale of produce. He said that during COVID-19 pandemic, each and every grain of Rabi crop of farmers have been purchased through this portal. To ensure transparency, payment to the farmer of their crops has been made directly into their bank accounts.
Mr Manohar Lal said that though water is the primary requirement for agriculture but it is also our responsibility to use minimum water so as to save it for our future generations. Keeping this in view, the State Government has started ‘Mera Pani-Meri Virasat' scheme to reduce the area under paddy and promote less water guzzling crops. He said that under this scheme, farmers would be given financial assistance at the rate of Rs 7000 per acre. The Chief Minister without naming anyone said that some people are trying to politicize the issue for their vested interests by describing this step as ‘Dhan Bandi’. He made it clear that his Government’s resolve is to save the future of farmers and their coming generations and the same would be realized with the consent of farmers.
While referring to the transparent system of recruitment in the State, the Chief Minister said that the present State Government has so far provided 75,000 jobs to the youth on merit basis. He said that today our youth no longer search for recommendations for getting jobs, instead they work hard in preparing for competitive examinations. Even in the IAS exams, youth of Haryana has brought laurels to the state by stint of their hard work and dedication. He said that 25 youth of the State have been successful in the IAS results declared this year. Not only this, Mr Pradeep Malik and Mr Himanshu Jain of Haryana have secured first rank and fourth rank respectively in the UPSC Civil Services Examinations, he added.
Mr Manohar Lal said that along with the agriculture sector, industries also form the base of our economy and play a vital role in employment generation. He said that to ensure balanced industrial development of the state, Enterprise Promotion Policy has been implemented which has yielded positive results. Now, we are in the process of preparing a new Enterprise Promotion Policy-2020. Referring to the call of 'Vocal for Local' given by Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said that Haryana is fast moving towards self-sufficiency during COVID-19 . He said that multinational companies are expanding their business in Haryana to make the state a hub of production.
The Chief Minister said that with a view to promote and facilitate Micro, Small and Medium enterprises, a separate department of MSME has been created in the State. He said that MSMEs not only lay a strong foundation to the economy, but also provide employment opportunities to the youth. He said that arrangement has also been made to give 75 per cent share in jobs in the private sector to the Haryana youth.
He said that after the formation of present government in the State, not only the sex ratio has increased to 923 girls per 1000 boys, but the number of women colleges has also been increased significantly. He said that out of the 66 new colleges opened in the state, 42 are women colleges. Apart from this, to ensure a safe and secure atmosphere for women, 31 women police stations have been set up in the State. He said that when we took over the reigns of government in 2014, the strength of women in the State police force was only 3 per cent which has now increased to 10 per cent. He said that now we have set a target to further increase it to 15 per cent.
Underlining the significance of robust infrastructure facilities in the development of the State, Mr Manohar Lal said that special emphasis is being given on the expansion of air service along with road, rail and metro services to accelerate the pace of development in the state. Describing electricity as a prerequisite to development, he said that power infrastructure has been further strengthened and line losses have been reduced to 17.27 per cent from about 32 per cent earlier. As a result of this, the power distribution corporations of the State are running in profits. He said that work to provide 24-hour power supply in 10 districts under the 'Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon' scheme has been completed. At present, 24 hours electricity is being provided in 4,638 villages of the state including these districts and from today onward round-the-clock power supply would be ensured in additional 200 villages thus taking the total number of such villages to 4838.
Mr Manohar Lal said that it has been decided to open 3000 play-way schools for children in the State. Out of these, 1000 schools would be opened this year. Apart from this, the State Government is also going to open 82 new Sanskriti Model Schools to impart quality education to the students. He said that to deal with situations arising due to COVID-19 pandemic, online education is being encouraged. Expressing his commitment to fully implement the provisions of the New Education Policy-2020 in Haryana, he said that this policy is going to prove as a transformative step in giving a new power to the country.
The Chief Minister said that owing to the new sports policy and the constant encouragement being given to the sports persons, the sportspersons of Haryana have brought laurels to the country by winning scores of medals at international level sports competitions. He said that the State Government is emphasizing on developing resources and facilities for all sports. He said that it is a matter of great pride that Haryana has got the opportunity to host the 'Khelo India Youth Games-2021'. About 15,000 sportspersons from all over the country would participate in these games, he added.
Mr Manohar Lal said that effective steps have been taken to further improve the health services in the state. Arrangement of adequate number of COVID hospitals, testing labs, isolation wards, plasma banks and medical equipment has been made to effectively deal with COVID-19 Pandemic. As a result of this, more than 83 per cent of COVID patients have been cured in the state . We tried our best to save the lives of all the patients, yet some lives were lost and I am very sad about it, said the Chief Minister.
He said that taking a historic step in the direction of village development, work is in progress to make the villages free from Lal Dora. In the same series, 242 villages would be made free from Lal Dora by October 2, 2020. Apart from this, to protect the people from fraud in property and land transactions, the details of properties and land records are being made online. For this, details of 127 tehsils and sub-tehsils have been uploaded on the WEB HALRIS portal.
The Chief Minister said that the State Government has recently given a one time rebate of 50 per cent in property tax for residential properties situated in Lal Dora of villages under Municipal Bodies. Not only this, 100 per cent exemption in property tax has also been given to the charitable educational institutions, charitable hospitals and schools for children with special needs. Also, keeping in view the hardships caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the State Government has decided to waive off three months electricity bills of all religious places that is Temples (including Buddhist & Jain temples), Gurudwaras, Churches and Masjids in the state for the period April, 2020 to June, 2020.
Referring to various steps taken for welfare of all sections of the society, he said that the State Government has implemented several schemes to ensure education, health, safety, self-reliance and self-respect for every person in the State. Apart from this, seemingly impossible tasks of curbing corruption in registries and ration system for BPL families, stringent steps for transparency, making thousands of villages of Haryana free from Lal Dora, direct assistance to more than 6 lakh families under Mukhyamantri Parivar Samridhi Yojana and Parivar Pehchan Patra for every family in the State to bring them under the ambit of social security are among the several steps taken by the present State Government.
Earlier, the Chief Minister inspected the parade and took salute from the marching contingent of Haryana Police, Home Guard and National Cadet Corps (NCC).
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also honoured Brigadier Chandrakant Sood, father of Major Anuj Sood who was martyred in an encounter at Handwara in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district recently. He also honoured Prof. Harbans Lal, father of Kargil martyr Major Sandeep Sagar.
He also honoured nine Corona Warriors in recognition of their outstanding work during COVID -19. They include Dr Aman Sharma, Mr Gulshan Kumar, Ms Kavita, Staff Nurse, Mr Madan Lal, Sewadar, Mr Palani Swami, Safai Karamchari, Mr Mohan Lal, Safai Supervisor, Col. Jasdeep Sandhu, Mr Ajit Singh Shekawat, IPS and Inspector Mr Sushil.
Among those present on this occasion included Chief Secretary Mrs Keshni Anand Arora, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Mr Vijai Vardhan, Director General of Police (DGP) Mr Manoj Yadava, ADGP,CID Mr Alok Mittal, ADGP, Law and Order Mr Navdeep Singh Virk, Commissioner of Police Mr Saurabh Singh, Deputy Commissioner Mr Mukesh Ahuja, Superintendent of Police Mr Mohit Handa and other senior officers of civil and police administration.