Chandigarh, March 17: Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that the kind of reforms the present State Government had introduced to ensure ‘Maximum Governance-Minimum Government' is what no one thought was ever possible.
“There is a need to distinguish between bona fide and mala fide intentions. We may make mistakes, but our intent is never wrong. Starting from those at the bottom of the pyramid out utmost priority, as they are the ones who have first right on the government,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.
While launching a frontal attack on the Opposition claim over the discontinuation of the Old-age pension of about 2.70 lakh beneficiaries in the State, the Chief Minister described these claims as an empty vessel that makes the loudest noise.
Addressing a press conference here today Sh. Manohar Lal said that the Opposition can only make noise on this issue, but they are unaware of the ground reality.
“Opposition will never share the details about the number of new pension beneficiaries added in last two years, they only talk about pension deductions by tricking the figures. As many as 2.61 lakh new beneficiaries have been added in two years till March 2022,” informed Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that around 2.41 lakh people have died in these two years, their pension has been discontinued. Besides this, there are about 21,000 having an annual income of more than Rs 3.50 lakh; therefore their pension has been discontinued, while there are around 15000 cases where discrepancies related to age have been found and because of which they have not been able to avail the pension benefits, he added.
He said that the income limit in the year 2011 for getting the pension benefits was Rs 50,000. In the year 2012, the previous government had raised this limit to Rs 2 lakh. Since then there has been no change in this income limit and till now the pension of any beneficiary has not been discontinued falling in the annual income range between Rs 2 to Rs 3.5 lakh.
“The State Government has sent the data of persons in the age group of 57 to 60 years for verification through Parivar Pehchan Patra, as soon as this data will be verified, the pension will start automatically once they attain the pension age,” informed Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that through Parivar Pehchan Patra, it was found that there are almost 18000 widows who are now married however their widow pension continued. Now that the government has started the work of verification, most of the women themselves are now visiting the government offices, requesting discontinuation of their pension.
“For the fits time, our government has also started giving the pension benefit of Rs. 2500 to the people suffering from serious diseases like cancer and HIV,” shared Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that in order to ensure complete transparency in maintaining the records, the birth and death registration process has been digitized and it has been linked with the Parivar Pehchan Patra so that the information of the family members is updated automatically. Besides this, the marriage registration process will also be further strengthened, asserted Sh. Manohar Lal.
Divulging the details about the PPP data, the Chief Minister said that in the fifth phase data of around 30.06 lakh families has been sent for verification. Till now 13.53 lakh verified families have an annual income of less than Rs.1.80 lakh. Out of the verified families, the percentage of the families belonging to Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes is 31 and 37 respectively, he added.
“Zero tolerance policy has been adopted against corruption. We are making dedicated efforts to take the drive against corruption to the grassroot level. Opposition is raising hue and cry for the steps we are taking to curb corruption. Since 2014, as many, as 71 FIR registered and 603 accused arrested in examination scams” asserted Sh. Manohar Lal.
35th International Surajkund Handicrafts Mela to begin from March 19
The Chief Minister said that the 35th International Surajkund Handicrafts Mela will be from March 19, 2022, the very next day from Holi and will continue till April 4, 2022. Due to the Pandemic, the Mela could not be held last two years. This Mela attracts tourists from all across the globe, he added.
The Chief Minister said that this time 'Jammu and Kashmir will be the partner State, while Uzbekistan is the participating country. Around 20 countries are expected to participate in this Mela. International artists and craftsmen from these countries will be the main attraction.
“An E-ticketing system has been started for the convenience of the visitors visiting the Mela. Around 25 lakh people are expected to visit this Mela. This time we have decided that two such Melas would be organized in September and October month” informed Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that apart from these, all the other states are also participating in this Mela. For the last 35 years, this Mela has been providing a proper platform to the handicraftsmen, craftsmen and handloom artisans to showcase their skills, he added.
"This Mela not only strengthens the unity and integrity of the country but also boosts the cultural links between them. The craftsman from all across the country coming on one platform allows learning each other's culture" added Sh. Manohar Lal.
State geared up to celebrate the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
The Chief Minister said that a state-level function will be held in Panipat on April 24, 2022, to mark the celebrations of the 400th Prakash Purab of Hind Di Chadar Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.
Sh. Manohar Lal said that as Haryana shares a special bond not only with Guru Tegh Bahadur ji but with all the ten Sikh Gurus as most of them have travelled in Kurukshetra and Lohgarh, which once was the capital of Sikh state. The state youth have a lot to learn from the life of these Sikh Gurus, the greatest humanitarians this world has ever seen.
"Haryana has a special connection with Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji as more than 30 Gurdwaras are in the state in the name of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. The young generation should take inspiration from his life and hence a state-level function would be held in Panipat," said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Vaccination drive for the children in the age group of 12 to 14 years started
The Chief Minister said that the Anti-COVID vaccination programme has already been started for children in the age group of 12 to 14 years in the state from March 16, 2022. Earlier, the vaccination programme for children in the age group of 15 to 18 years was started on January 3, 2022. So far, about 11 lakh and six lakh children have been administered the first dose and second dose respectively.
The Chief Minister further shared that a total of 9.75 lakh children in the age group of 12 to 14 years are to be vaccinated in the state. A total of 390 vaccination centers have been set up for this.
“So far, more than 2.29 crore first doses while about 1.83 crore second doses have been administered in the state. Similarly, 2.54 lakh precautionary doses have been administered. For this, I appreciate the health workers and all the organizations that have played a pivotal role in the vaccination administration,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Sh. D.S Dhesi, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Dr Amit Agrawal, Media Advisor to Chief Minister, Sh. Amit Arya also remained present on the occasion.