Chandigarh December 31: Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal said that he is hopeful that the next meeting scheduled for January 4, 2021 between the protesting farmers and Central Government will certainly yield positive results. “I am happy that the recently held meeting seemed to be productive and I am hopeful that soon a positive solution will come out on this issue,” said Mr. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said this while interacting with media persons during a Press Conference held here today. Chief Minister also urged the agitating farmers who are protesting in this severe cold to return to their homes as the issue of Farm Laws is expected to be concluded on a positive note.
“We consider farmers as our own and have always been sympathetic towards their interests. A lot of effort is being made towards resolving the issue through mutual dialogue,” said the Chief Minister.
Taking a jibe at Congress and other leaders who have been misleading famers over the newly introduced Farm Laws, just to attain their vested interests, Mr. Manohar Lal said that though many have tried their best to mislead the innocent farmers but soon these leaders will also get a befitting reply like they have got in the results of Municipal Corporation, Council and Committees elections.
He said that in the last six years the kind of positive work and the number of farmers’ welfare schemes launched by Haryana have not been launched by any other state. Be it procurement of Millet, Maize, Groundnut, Moong at MSP or implementation of Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana to ensure that farmers get fair prices for their produce, several steps have been taken by the State Government to ensure farmers' welfare.
The Chief Minister said that in Haryana procurement of Millet is done at Rs. 2150 per quintal, whereas the Rajasthan Government had procured the same at Rs. 1200 and Rs. 1300 per quintal. While strongly defending the New Farm Laws, the Chief Minister said that if someone tries to do away with Minimum Support Price (MSP) in Haryana then he will quit politics.
Responding to a question regarding smuggling of Millet being done in the State, the Chief Minister said that directions have already been issued to the Deputy Commissioners to keep a vigil on the smuggling cases and take strict action against those involved in such illegal activities.
Responding to another question regarding water conservation, the Chief Minister said that State Government has launched Mera Pani Meri Virasat Yojana. Under this ambitious scheme, till now around 80,000 acres of land has been verified for crop diversification and I am happy that farmers have positively adopted the crop diversification scheme. An amount of Rs. 2000 has already been given to the farmers at the time of sowing, while Rs. 5000 are being given after verification, said the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister further said that with this an amount of Rs 4 crore has been spent for equal distribution of water in each canal and reach of water has been ensured to 293 tail ends. Besides this, focus is on micro-irrigation and for this it has already been decided to restructure and redesignate the Command Area Development Authority (CADA) as Micro Irrigation and Command Area Development Authority (MICADA) for the effective implementation of Micro Irrigation projects especially in the water deficient areas, alongwith watercourses work on various canal commands in the State.
Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr. D. S. Dhesi, Deputy Principal Secretaries to Chief Minister, Mr. Amit Kumar Agrawal and Mrs. Ashima Brar, Director General, Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, Mr. P.C Meena were also present on this occasion.