Chandigarh, June 6: The steps taken by Haryana Government under the leadership of Haryana Chief Minister Mr. Manohar Lal to prevent the spread of Corona Pandemic, are being praised all over the country. In this series, actor Mr. Randeep Hooda, who belongs to Haryana, interviewed the Chief Minister Mr. Manohar Lal today through a webinar and praised him for his efforts to tackle ongoing COVID crisis.

The Chief Minister said that comprehensive arrangements made by Haryana Government to prevent the spread of Corona Pandemic include setting up of exclusive COVID Hospitals, expansion of testing facilities, setting up of new labs, besides distribution of ration and food to the poor and needy.

The State Government has also made adequate arrangements of setting up relief camps for migrant workers, providing medical facilities to COVID as well as non-COVID patients and counselling them through psychotherapy, he added.

The Chief Minister said,” We started our preparations, when, during the Haryana Vidhan Sabha session on March 4, 2020, we suddenly got the information that 14 people from Italy were admitted in a hospital in Gurugram after being found Corona positive.”

He said that since then Government along with the District Administration started keeping a close tab on every situation and chalked out strategies accordingly. A 24*7 control room was set up and immediate action was taken as and when information was received from various sources within and outside the country. In this way the State was successful in controlling the situation to a great extent.

The Chief Minister said that the people of the State have fully supported the Government and have themselves been aware about fighting against this Pandemic. He said that villagers themselves guarded the entry and exit points in the villages by setting up ‘Thikri Pehras’ and the people coming from outside were quarantined for 14 days in schools or other buildings located in the outskirts.

Responding to a question asked by Mr. Randeep Hooda regarding the arrangements made by Haryana to send workers back to their home states, the Chief Minister said that about nine lakh people had registered on the portal out of which arrangements were made to send around 3.5 lakh people back to their home states through trains and buses. Likewise, providing ration to every needy person has remained the topmost priority of the State Government and adhering to this around 2.5 crore food packets were distributed to about 50 lakh people so that no one remained hungry in this hour of crisis. Besides this, financial assistance was provided to 20 lakh people.

When Mr. Randeep Hooda asked the Chief Minister about the letter written by him to Chief Minister of Bihar, Mr. Nitish Kumar, Mr. Manohar Lal said that letter had been written as a response to the financial offer of Mr. Nitish Kumar for sending workers back to Bihar, to which he had said that we all are the children of Mother India and states cannot be bound within boundaries at such a crucial time. Workers have made an important contribution in the progress of the country.

He said that the workers were missing their homes and wanted to return. He said that the industrial activities have started in a phased manner after lifting of lockdown. Many workers are now returning to their jobs and do not want to go back.

While, responding to another query, the Chief Minister said that the people of Haryana had the capability to face any kind of challenge that came their way. In the year 1966 when Haryana was separated from Punjab then it was said that Haryana would not even be able to pay its employees. Today, 54 years since its inception, Haryana has proved itself successful on many parameters. Similarly, despite representing 2 percent of the country's population, 10 percent of soldiers in the army are from Haryana.

Mr. Randeep Hooda appreciated the efforts of the Chief Minister for not allowing any disturbance in the procurement of wheat and mustard due to the COVID-19 crisis. He said that he had even called his uncle to seek information about the process of procurement and he was told that people of Haryana are very happy with the purchase arrangements as any information that relates to the procurement is sent on their mobile phones through sms and they visit the Mandis accordingly and a few days later, they receive sms regarding receipt of payment in their bank accounts.

The Chief Minister said that due to the lockdown, the change in procurement process was done this time. Earlier there were 100 mandis and procurement centers for mustard, but this time they were increased to 200. Similarly there were about 400 mandis and centers for wheat, which were increased to about 1800. The Chief Minister said that purchases were made by sending one Aarhti to the nearest procurement center.

Welcoming the suggestion shared by Mr. Randeep Hooda that Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) should be formulated for releasing the amount being given under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana directly in the accounts of the farmers, the Chief Minister said that the same would be considered.

Responding to a question on 'Mera Pani Meri Virasat' scheme, the Chief Minister said, “Considering water conservation issue as the need of the hour; 'Mera Pani Meri Virasat' scheme has been launched. Under this scheme, the farmers have been advised to adopt crop diversification by sowing other crops namely maize, millet, pulses, vegetables, and fruits in their fields in place of paddy. For sowing other crops, farmers would be given an incentive amount of Rs. 7000 per acre.”

He said that this scheme is a plan to make up the farmers’ mind for adopting change in crop patterns. The idea behind this scheme was the ideology that when a person leaves the world, he leaves behind land for the future generation through inheritance, then why not leave land with water.

The Chief Minister said that a scheme named 'Kisan Mitra' is being formulated so that progressive farmers may inspire small farmers to avail benefits of agricultural techniques, along with animal husbandry, dairy, horticulture and other allied sectors.

He said that it is necessary to ensure apt financial management of the small farmers for which progressive farmers would have to take lead because only a farmer can understand the needs of their counterparts. He said that every person of Haryana should become self-reliant, if Haryana becomes self-reliant, then the country too will become self-reliant. It is our resolve to fulfill the goal of self-reliance as set by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi.

On being asked about issues related to environment, the Chief Minister said that he takes pride in being an environmentalist himself. He considered environment next to God. Mr. Randeep Hooda was elated to hear this and said that he too was an environmentalist himself.

Similarly, when asked about the roadmap for the next six months prepared by the Haryana government, the Chief Minister said the economy had been affected due to the lockdown, the economic activities had stopped for some time, but now they are being resumed in a phased manner and would slowly be brought back on track. He said that workers, shopkeepers and factory workers have suffered the most. The farmers on the other hand, he said, had not been so badly affected as the procurement of their produce has been done efficiently by the Government.

The Chief Minister said that along with improving the infrastructure in the government schools, there are plans to upgrade the study modules. He said that the government has decided to establish 1,000 English Medium Schools. Similarly, 98 senior secondary schools will be developed as Adarsh Sanskriti Model Schools. He said that there will be one category of students whose entire fees will be waived off, in the second category half fees will be waived and the third category the full fees would be charged.

Mr. Randeep Hooda pointed out that most of politicians prefer to maintain their vote banks, but Mr. Manohar Lal had has acted beyond this type of ideology. The Chief Minister responding to this said that some tough decisions also have to be taken, which are eventually liked by the public likes. The decision to award jobs on merit was one such example. Initially the people of his party were not happy but the public was happy. He said that deserving candidates got government jobs, while the leaders of earlier government used to take credit on public platform that they had given jobs to so many people of a particular Vidhan Sabha Constituency. But we have changed this pattern.

Similarly we have implemented online transfer policy, whereby with a single click 42,000 teachers were transferred out of which more than 93 percent teachers got their desired stations.

Mr. Randeep Hooda inquired as to when he would be able to resume the shooting of his movie in Karnal. The Chief Minister replied that indoor shooting is allowed and the MHA guidelines will have to be complied with. Mr. Randeep Hooda suggested that the Chief Minister should watch his movie ‘Lal rang’ in which Karnal looks as beautiful as Spain.

Chief Minister said that new experiences have been gained during the lockdown. We have made use of Information Technology in our functioning and for holding meetings and today’s conversation has been possible due to IT. He said that necessity is the mother of invention.