IEP Chandigarh, November 10

Haryana Chief Secretary, Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal said that five districts including Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Mahendragarh, Faridabad and Kurukshetra have been included in the tourism hub to promote tourism in the state. In addition, a detailed project report is being created for infrastructure development of District Panchkula from the tourism point of view.

        The Chief Secretary was presiding over a meeting of the first State Steering Committee organized for the development of tourism infrastructure under the Swadesh Darshan-2.0 scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, here today. He said that this is a better effective scheme to promote tourism. More effort should be put into it for the expansion of tourism in the state which will directly give a boost to employment.

        He said that there are 55 tourist places in Panchkula like Morni Hills, Yadavindra Garden, Kaushalya Dam, Nada Sahib etc.. The proposal to include Mahendragarh and Faridabad districts in this scheme will also be sent to the Ministry of Tourism so that tourism can be promoted in these districts as well. He said that Mahendragarh has many ancient monument sites like Madhogarh Fort, Birbal Ka Chatta, Jal Mahal, Dhosi Parvat which are being developed from the tourism point of view.

        He said that there are 17 tourist places in Faridabad like historic Surajkund, Damdama Lake, Aravali Golf Club, Sohna Water Springs etc. He said that work should also be done on creating a modern level special tourism block in Surajkund as per the directions of Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal so that it can become a centre of attraction for the tourists. There are many tourist places in Yamunanagar like Adi Badri, Lohgarh, Hathni Kund Barrage, Kalesar National Park, etc.

        The Chief Secretary stated that work on tourism and related infrastructure, tourism services, human and capital development, site management and promotion, etc. must be done in order to implement the Swadesh Darshan Scheme 2.0. Additionally, facilities and services related to wellness and rural tourism, adventure tourism, cultural and heritage tourism will be worked on. Apart from this, meeting, conference and exhibition venues and places to promote tourism promotion are also to be selected.

        He said that under the Swadesh Darshan 1.0 scheme, eco-tourism, wildlife, intellectual, spiritual, hilly inaccessible areas, pilgrimage places etc. were selected. In this scheme, tourism infrastructure is being developed at a cost of Rs. 97.34 crore by including the Krishna Circuit project in Kurukshetra, Haryana. In these, work is being done on 5 schemes like Multipurpose Tourism Information Centre, Railing of Sarovar, Abhimanyu Ghat, Light and Sound show which will be completed and operated in the month of November. He said that Thanesar Sheikh Chilli Tomb of Kurukshetra should also be included in this scheme and developed.

        A presentation on Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme was also shown in the meeting. Additional Chief Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, Sh. Anil Malik, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department, Sh. Apoorva Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary, Haryana Tourism Department, Sh. MD Sinha, Director, Tourism, Special Secretary to Government, Tourism Department, Sh. Pankaj, Director, Art & Cultural Affairs and Special Secretary, Art & Cultural Affairs Department, Sh. Mahavir Kaushik and many senior officers were present.

IEP Chandigarh, November 10

The Chief Minister Sh Manohar Lal today released a coffee table book titled ‘Hari Sadan’ highlighting the new initiatives taken in the 14th Haryana Vidhan Sabha in the last three years at a function here today. 

Speaking on this occasion, Sh. Manohar Lal said that the manner in which the Speaker Vidhan Sabha, Sh. Gian Chand Gupta has conducted the House proceedings during these three glorious years is really commendable.

Regulating the debates and proceedings of the House in an unbiased manner is certainly not a simple task, but Sh. Gian Chand Gupta while rising above the party’s ideology has always ensured to give equal chance to the leaders of both Ruling and the Opposition party, added Sh. Manohar Lal. 

He said that as the Speaker of the Assembly, Sh. Gian Chand Gupta conducted the Assembly in a dignified and constitutional manner. 

The Chief Minister said that the proceedings of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha have been conducted very well as compared to the Legislative Assemblies of other states.

Haryana Vidhan Sabha has become e-Vidhan Sabha 

Sh. Manohar Lal said that Sh. Gian Chand Gupta has brought many revolutionary changes to the Vidhan Sabha. Taking a new initiative, the Vidhan Sabha has been made e-Vidhan Sabha. At present, in the first year, the proceedings of the Vidhan Sabha will be conducted in both ways, but in the coming years, the State Vidhan Sabha will be made completely paperless. This move of making Assembly paperless is a big change in itself.

Many revolutionary changes were brought in the State Assembly

The Chief Minister said that various  changes have been brought in the Vidhan Sabha. A new food arrangement for the MLAs has been made in the Vidhan Sabha wherein the MLAs can pay Rs.100 to eat food. Apart from this, the timing of the proceedings of the House has also been changed. Now the proceedings of the House begin at 11:00 am and continue till the completion of legislative business in the evening. 

Introducing yet another first-of-its-kind initiative in Haryana Vidhan Sabha, MLAs were provided training regarding the legislative work. For this, Lok Sabha Speaker was also specially invited for the said training session, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

He said that in these 3 years another new tradition was started. During the budget session, a holiday was observed in the house for 4 days so that the MLAs could read the budget well in advance and during these 4 days, suggestions were also taken from MLAs of both the ruling party and opposition.

Steps taken towards construction of new building of State Vidhan Sabha

The Chief Minister said that the Speaker has also made efforts for the construction of a new building of the State Vidhan Sabha. Now the site for the building has been earmarked and consent has been given for the same. The new building will be constructed soon after completing the necessary procedures. The unique beginning of selecting the Best MLA of the Year was also done during the tenure of Sh. Gian Chand Gupta, shared Sh. Manohar Lal. 

Many first-of-its-kind initiatives introduced in the Assembly, Speaker

Speaking on the occasion, Sh. Gian Chand Gupta expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for releasing the Coffee Table Book. 

In these three years, the legislators of both the ruling party and the opposition have played an instrumental role in the smooth functioning of the House, implementing new initiatives for the betterment functioning of the Assembly, added Sh. Gian Chand Gupta. 

He said that new initiatives were introduced to maintain the dignity of the House. The questions to be asked during the Question Hour are selected through draw of lots. Similarly, by changing the Punjab Legislative Assembly rules, new rules of the Haryana Legislative Assembly were introduced. Besides this, the statue of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was also unveiled in the premises of Haryana Vidhan Sabha.

He said that provision has also been made for the legislators to get questions and bills well in time. Now questions and Bills are given to the MLAs almost five days prior to the session, so that the MLAs can read them well in time.

Not only this, biometric attendance was started in the Assembly office. Apart from this, timely execution of files is also being ensured under the Right to Service Act.

On this occasion, Transport Minister, Sh. Mool Chand Sharma, Deputy Speaker, Sh. Ranbir Gangwa, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Sh. O.P. Yadav, Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Smt. Kamlesh Dhanda, MLAs and other officials were present.

IEP Chandigarh, November 9

Since 2014, the Double engine government has certainly doubled Haryana’s growth pace. In all these eight years, the State has not only set a record in terms of implementing several first-of-its-kind development reforms but has also placed Haryana as one of the prominent state of the country in terms of infrastructural development.

        The credit for this success certainly goes to the visionary thinking of the Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal. The Chief Minister not only increased the fund allocation for the development of infrastructure but set up various new developmental projects so as to ensure the holistic development of Haryana.

        “We don’t just promise, we deliver. Our government is giving special focus to the overall development of the state by bringing in radical changes. In today’s era, Haryana has become prominent state of the country in terms of infrastructural development,” believes Sh. Manohar Lal.

        The Chief Minister, who is also the Finance Minister of Haryana, while bringing in a policy change had created a Medium Term Expenditure Reserve Fund of Rs 8,700 crore so as to ensure the smooth execution of long-term projects.

        The budget allocation is done on an annual basis and many projects are of long duration, which takes more than a year to complete. Our government has accepted the fact that many projects, especially those related to infrastructure, require continuous support of budget. Therefore, a Reserve Fund has been created for such projects by making provision for medium-term expenditure structure to avoid delay in the completion of projects due to budget allocation on annual basis, says Sh. Manohar Lal.

59 ROBs and RUBs already constructed, 40 in progress

        From time to time, the Manohar Lal-led government is ensuring the construction of Railway Over Bridges (ROBs) or Railway Under Bridges (RUBs). In the last 8 years, railway mapping has been done and such places have been identified where there is a need for ROB / RUB. During the tenure of the present State Government, 59 ROBs or RUBs have been constructed and construction of 40 ROBs / RUBs is in progress.

Roads to prosperity

        The Chief Minister firmly believes that the economic development of any state clearly depends on the connectivity of its regions, while realizing the same the State Government has taken concrete steps to strengthen the road network across the State. Whatever projects Haryana has proposed to the Central government, the Centre has immediately shown the green signal to the same.

        Till now, 17 new National Highways have been declared in Haryana, out of which work on 7 has been completed and work on 10 is in progress. Not only this, 18,470 km of roads have been improved with an investment of Rs 7717 crore.

Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor to come up at a cost of Rs 5,618 crore

The Regional Rapid Transit System Connectivity project between Sarai Kale khan-Karnal and Sarai-Kale khan to Alwar Rajasthan border was started at a cost of about Rs.70,000 crores. The foundation stone of the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor has also been laid for Palwal– Sonipat and Sohna–Manesar at a cost of Rs 5,618 crore.

        The work of the elevated railway line has also started in Kurukshetra, the country’s first elevated railway line built in Rohtak. To ease the traffic around Delhi, Kundli-Manesar-Palwal and Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Expressways were built, on which traffic has started. Besides this traffic movement has also started on Sonipat – Jind railway line and work on Rohtak – Meham – Hansi and Karnal Yamunanagar railway lines have been started.

        The Delhi Metro extension has also been approved from Narela to Kundli, Sonepat HUDA City Center Railway Station Sector-22, Cyber City Faridabad and Gurugram and Rejangla Chowk to Sector-21 Dwarka. Ring roads of Ambala and Bhiwani and bypasses of Hisar, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Pinjore and Jind towns have been constructed by the State Government in the last 8 years.

Haryana progresses to become a developed state

        With the pace at Haryana steering towards growth during the tenure of the Manohar Lal government, it would not be wrong to say that it will become a developed and prosperous state of the 21st century. The State Government further aims to ensure holistic development while working on the motto of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Saba Vishwas.