IEP Chandigarh, February 23

 Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has expressed disappointment over the budget presented by the BJP-JJP government. He said the budget is against farmers, laborers, employees, small traders, rural, urban, poor, middle class, youth and housewives. “The budget has left every section empty handed. The BJP-JJP government has reduced the budget to mere rhetoric, because what is said in the budget is never implemented on the ground. The government considers the budget only a formality. It never shows seriousness about implementing the promises made in it,” he stated.Hooda said that the government has announced to spend Rs 20,340 crore on education, which is just 2% of the GSDP. while the new education policy recommends spending 6%. Similarly, the government has announced to spend Rs 9,647 crore on health services, which is only 5.2% of the budget, whereas in the National Health Policy 2017, 8% expenditure on health services was recommended by the year 2020 only. Talking about the agriculture sector, the government has announced to spend Rs 7342 crore on it. “This is just 3.9% of the total budget while 60% of Haryana’s population is dependent on agriculture. It is unfair to spend less than 4% for such a large population. Not only this, this budget is also completely silent on the promise of doubling the income of the farmers. This attitude of the government reflects its anti-farmer and anti-agriculture mindset,” he said.“It has become clear from the budget that the debt on the government is continuously increasing. The government has put total internal debt of Rs 2,85,885 crore. This time the government is going to take a loan of Rs 64,840 crore. Due to the increasing debt, the government will have to spend Rs 56,769 crore only in paying its principal and interest. After paying interest and principal, only Rs 8071 crore is left with the government for capital expenditure,” Hooda pointed out. “This means the government is engaged in playing the game of repaying the loan by taking loan. Therefore, the Congress demands that the government should issue a white paper on rising debt so that the public can get a clear idea of the total internal debt, public account deposits (small savings) and debt taken on government guarantee (loan taken by PSUs),” he said. He said the government has announced to spend a total of Rs 18,460 crore on capital expenditure, which is only 10% of the total budget. “For Haryana, which is facing the highest unemployment in the country, it is not possible to generate employment according to the need with just this much expenditure. It is grossly insufficient to address the problem,” he said.  “The government has made airy claims regarding per capita income, and the government has given per capita income of Rs 2,96,685. Accordingly, the annual income of each family is Rs 14,83,425. There are 30 lakh such families in the state, who directly depend on agriculture. The NSSO report states that the total income of farmer families does not exceed Rs 22,841 per month i.e. Rs 2,75,000 per annum. On the other hand, the government claims that more than 29 lakh families (whose income is less than 1.80 lakh) in the state are the beneficiaries of the Ayushman Yojana. In such a situation, the claim of Rs 2,96,685 per capita income is not visible on the ground,” he stated, pointing to massive exaggeration in numbers.Hooda said this budget will prove unsuccessful even in stopping the rising inflation. “In the neighboring state of Rajasthan, the Congress government has announced to give LPG cylinders for Rs.500 and the people of Haryana were also expecting such an announcement from the state government. The hopes of the people have been washed away as the government did not even announce a cut in VAT to give relief from the inflation of petrol and diesel. The government has left the people suffering from inflation to fend for themselves,” he stated. 

IEP Chandigarh, February 22

 Haryana Chief Minister while taking a dig at the Opposition said that they should be more focused on doing quality criticism rather than catching the eyes of the media.“The Opposition’s criticism should be informative so it looks credible. Opposing every work of the government for the sake of criticizing dent’s the credibility of the Opposition,” said Sh. Manohar Lal, while replying to the Governor’s address during the ongoing Budget Session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.While clarifying the air about the e-tendering system started by the State Government in PRIs, the Chief Minister said that allocating Panchayat works through e-tendering is a part of the government’s zero-tolerance policy adopted against corruption.“With this system, we have empowered the Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The duty of the Panchayats is to ensure smooth execution of development work, while providing timely funds for the same is our job,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.He said that every Panchayat will upload the list of development works to be done on the portal at the beginning of the year. The government has allocated Rs 1100 crore to the Panchayats in the last quarter of this financial year. Panchayats can spend this amount as per the needs of the development works, said the Chief Minister.2890 work costing below Rs 2 lakh have startedSh. Manohar Lal informed that an engineering work portal has been created for ensuring transparency in the tender process. So far, 2890 works costing below Rs 2 lakh have been started in Panchayats across the state. While 3254 Panchayats have passed their resolutions, and further 3297 development works ranging from Rs. 2 to 5 lakh have been uploaded on the portal. About 600 contactors have registered on the portal, informed the Chief Minister.He said that Quality Assurance Authority has been formed to curb corruption in construction works, ensuring transparency and accountability in government projects. He said that this Authority will periodically check the quality of construction work and will issue a certificate. The payment to the contractors will be made only after the Authority’s certificate.Eradicating corruption from its roots is no less than a ‘Junoon’ for me, CMSh. Manohar Lal said that eradicating corruption from its roots is no less than a ‘Junoon’ for him and following this passion only his government has taken several radical IT reforms which have certainly played a key role in curbing this ‘termite’.“Corruption is a fight for the future of youths; we have to jointly fight it,” said the Chief Minister.714 posts of Sanskrit TGT advertisedThe Chief Minister said that the total advertised 7471 TGT posts, which includes 714 Sanskrit TGT. While 1252 posts are of Mewat cadre and 100 are of Urdu TGT posts.Edusat Chowkidar will now be called a Multi-Purpose WorkerReplying to the issue regarding the salary-allowances of the Edusat Chowkidars working in schools, the Chief Minister said that they have been brought under the purview of Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam and their monthly salary-allowances have been increased from Rs. 7000 to Rs. 14,000 which is the level-1 category as per the Nigam wages. He further said that these chowkidars now be called Multi-Purpose Workers.3 percent of the total posts of Group C will be filled under the sports quotaThe Chief Minister while clarifying the confusion regarding the sports quota said that 3 percent of the total posts of Group-C will be filled under the sports quota. Along with appointments in police, sports, education and electricity departments, quota benefits will also be given in other departments as well. In the first phase, such sportspersons will be sent on deputation to other departments.We rank sixth among 19 big states in the Social Progress Index report released by NITI AayogThe Chief Minister said that Haryana ranks sixth in 19 big states of the country in the Social Progress Index (SPI) report released by NITI Aayog. In the ranking of districts, 20 districts of Haryana are in second and third tires.Farmers are getting their compensation on timeThe Chief Minister said that the ‘e-Fasal Kshatipoorti portal’ has been launched by the State Government so as to ensure that farmers get timely compensation for their damaged crops. The time limit for the farmers to register their crop damage on the portal has been increased from 72 hours to 7 days.Apart from, farmer, Patwari, Kanungo and Tehsildar also enter the details of damaged crops on this portal. This data is matched with the data entered by the farmers on the Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal. Random sampling will be done by SDMs (25 percent) and Deputy Commissioner (10 percent). This detailed process adopted by the State Government provides actual information about crop damage, stated Sh. Manohar Lal.Haryana is the first to start ‘Lal Dora Mukt Yojana’The Chief Minister said that the state government has implemented the SVAMITVA scheme, due to which the registration of all the properties inside Lal Dora is being done.The state government first started the initiative to end Lal Dora. Central Government has also adopted this scheme of the state government under the name of SVAMITVA, which has been implemented in 8 states of the country, informed Sh. Manohar Lal.The government will support those having land near KMPThe Chief Minister while assuring to support those having land near KMP said that KMP is neither the national highway nor the state highway, it is the expressway. KMP has limited entry and exit points and the rates of land near these points are higher. The land has been acquired under the Railway Act for the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor. However, the collector rates in this area have not been revised for a long time because of this the landowners can file arbitration to take more prices. The government will also support them in this matter, said Sh. Manohar Lal.School students will have to submit a tablet at the time of taking the school living certificateRegarding depositing the tablet by the school students, the Chief Minister said that at the time of taking the school living certificate, students will have to submit the tablet to the school management.CET examination will be held every year, under which recruitment of Group C and D will be done. The Government is planning to conduct a joint CET examination for group C and D posts. The examination will be equitant to 10th standard. However, the government is also considering the proposal that a separate examination will have to be held for Group C, for which the candidates will be given extra time. Opinion on this issue is being taken from the Advocate General.Round-the-clock power is being ensured under the Mhara Gaon-Jagamg Gaon schemeThe Chief Minister said that the under the Mhara Gaon-Jagamg Gaon scheme round the clock power is being ensured in every village.Radical improvements have been made in the power sector. Out of 7255 villages of the state, 24 hours of electricity is being provided in 5694 villages i.e. 78 percent of villages, informed Sh. Manohar Lal.A special committee formed to look into a stilt 4 -storey buildingThe Chief Minister said that permission was given to construct a 4 -storey house with stilt parking in the sectors of Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), but some complaints have been received in this regard, after which the government has formed a Special Committee in this matter. No new map will be passed until the committee submits its report.PPP is my dream ProjectCalling the Parivar Pehchan Patra his dream project, the Chief Minister said that the project is aimed to curb corruption by reducing human intervention.  The government has launched more than 100 portals and now it is only because of these portals that the money is going directly to the accounts of the beneficiaries through DBT. For 3 years, the government has saved Rs 1150 crore from ineligible beneficiaries.

IEP Chandigarh, February 22 

Haryana Governor Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya has called upon the youth to prepare themselves for employment opportunities in the field of new emerging technologies and said that they should focus on technology, innovation, and research.Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya was addressing the 4th Convocation of JC Bose University of Science and Technology, YMCA, Faridabad. Presiding over the Convocation as the Chancellor of the University, Sh. Dattatreya awarded the degrees, medals, and certifications to the students and scholars of the University in the presence of the Guest of Honour Prof. Brij Kishore Kuthiala, Chairman, Haryana State Higher Education Council, and the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sushil Kumar Tomar. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sushil Kumar Tomar delivered the welcome address and presented the Annual Report followed by the opening of the convocation ceremony by Chancellor Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya.As many as 1155 students and research scholars out of 2768, who have completed their degrees in the years 2017 to 2020, and in the year 2022, were conferred degrees by the Governor–Chancellor. Among them, 633 undergraduates and 511 post-graduate students, and 11 research scholars. Besides, about 213 students who completed their B.Voc degrees in the years 2021 and 2022 under the Community College of Skill Development of the University were also conferred degrees by the Chancellor.The representation of girl students among gold medallists in the Convocation was encouraging as out of 13 gold medallists, 8 were female. Expressing pleasure over the greater representation of girls compared to boys, Sh. Dattatreya said that it is a good sign which proves that girls are leading in every field. He said that we have to take women forward in society. If women progress, the country will progress.Sh. Dattatreya said that this University, which was established in the year 1969 as an Indo-German Project as a diploma institute, has contributed significantly to making the youth of the country skilled and entrepreneurs. It is a commendable step by the Haryana Government to name this institute after the great scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose. The Governor also congratulated the University for receiving NAAC accreditation with ‘A+’ grade, and NBA accreditation for its various technical courses.Describing unemployment as the biggest problem of the country, the Governor said that the solution to unemployment is a skill. Jobs will only be available to those who have the necessary skills for employment. He said that the National Education Policy 2020 is an important step towards skilling the youth. Sh. Dattatreya said that this is the policy which will alleviate unemployment and poverty. It has laid emphasis on education based on industrial needs and technology.Referring to the India Skills Report-2023, Sh. Dattatraya said that nowadays, students with B.Com degrees are found to be the most employable talent than other domains including B.Tech. Therefore, youth have to be ready for employment opportunities in every sector. Especially in the new technologies and emerging sectors, where employment potential is high. The Governor also encouraged the students for entrepreneurs. He said that instead of being job-seekers, students should think, work and move ahead in life by becoming job-creators.In his convocation address, Prof. Brij Kishore Kuthiala motivated the students to choose careers according to their interests. He said that today most of people have a feeling that they have not chosen their desired career. Therefore, the youth should conceptualize their future life and choose a career after consulting their parents, teachers, and intellectuals.Prof. Kuthiala said that J.C. Bose University has done commendable work in education and training in the field of science and technology which is exemplary for others. He said that the students and professors have to ensure that society moves in the right direction through science and technology. He said that Shastra’ (Knowledge) should not be used as a ‘Sastra’ (weapon) because knowledge leads to development and weapons destroys. He further elaborated that the leadership educated from the countries whose higher education sometimes we make role models expand wars like Russia and Ukraine. He said that the teacher’s role is to make the student a knowledgeable, hardworking, and useful citizen.Earlier, the Vice Chancellor Prof. Sushil Kumar Tomar in his address welcomed the guests and presented the annual report. Referring to the achievements of the University during the last few years, the Vice Chancellor said that the University has proved itself on the quality parameters. At present, about 60 courses are being taught at the University. Over the years, the University has developed new research facilities and infrastructure and has promoted placement and training activities. He also expressed commitment to the effective implementation of the National Education Policy, 2020, and the new campus of the University.In the end, Registrar Dr. Sunil Kumar Garg proposed the vote of thanks. The convocation concluded with the National Anthem.Sh. Sukhdev Singh, President of YMCA MOB Alumni Association, Prof. P. Sasikala Ramachandran from MCNUJC, Bhopal, Prof. (Retd.) S.N. Mishra from MDU Rohtak, members of various University bodies, and officials from district administration were also present on this occasion.