IEP Chandigarh, October 31

To commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Haryana Police today observed Rashtriya Ekta Diwas also known as National Unity Day across the state.

On this occasion, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Admin & IT, Haryana, Dr. A.S. Chawla administered the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas pledge to the officers and staff posted at Police Headquarters. The senior police officers were also present to take part in the event.

Remembering Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contribution in nation-building, Dr. Chawla said that everyone should dedicate themselves to preserve the unity, integrity and security of the nation and also strive hard to spread this message among all fellow countrymen.

Prominent amongst those present on the occasion are Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Sh. Sandeep Khirwar, AIG (Provisioning) Sh. Kamaldeep Goyal, SP Law and Order Smt. Smiti Choudhry, SP Welfare Sh. Rajiv Deswal, Additional Director Legal, Sh. Sat Parkash and other officers.

To mark the event, a pledge-taking ceremony to maintain the unity, integrity, and security of the nation was also organized in all Police ranges and Police Commissionerates, besides the district police headquarters.

IEP Chandigarh, October 31

Under the efforts of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government to curb the stubble burning incidents in the state, Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua, on Monday, instructed to effectively control the incidents of paddy stubble burning in probable areas where such incidents are likely to take place.

The Chief Secretary, while presiding over a high-level meeting on stubble management, took stock of the incidents of stubble burning with the Secretary in-charges of the districts, who recently visited their allotted districts and received suggestions from them as per the local situation. Mr. Janjua instructed to determine the responsibility of the Numbardars to prevent paddy stubble burning incidents, saying that the Numbardars should be entrusted upon the duty to sensitize farmers not to burn crop residue, and the accountability of the Numbardars should be fixed if the fire incidents take place in their concerned villages.

The Chief Secretary directed the officials to pay more attention during the next few days to prevent incidents of stubble burning and control fire incidents. “There should be more focus on hot-spots of stubble burning and the administration should be more vigilant in the villages, where cases of fire have been reported in the last few years”, said the Chief Secretary, adding that physical and satellite verification of stubble burning sites should be conducted more thoroughly. Expressing concern over the difference in number of stubble burning incidents through physical and satellite verification, he categorically asked the officials to focus on area captured by optical satellite data analysis by the Punjab Remote Sensing Center (PRSC).

The secretary-in-charges, who visited the districts recently, apprised the chief secretary that reduction in fire incidents in the state has been noticed and informed that area under which stubble was burnt till 27th October 2021 was 400.35 thousand hectares which has been brought down to 295.60 thousand hectares on the 26th October 2022. On this, the Chief Secretary directed the officials to ensure maximum awareness among farmers not to burn stubble. He said that crop residue burning Incidents on government land given on lease, will not be tolerated at any cost.

While appreciating the initiative of the Gurdaspur district administration for utilizing fire tenders for dousing farm fires, the Chief Secretary instructed all the Deputy Commissioners of the state to rope the fire tenders into service in their respective districts. Whenever stubble fire incidents to be noticed, fire tenders should be sent immediately to douse the farm fire and further action should be taken, he added.

Taking stock of the in-situ and ex-situ management of crop residue, the Chief Secretary also instructed the officials to explore the possibilities of setting up paddy straw bale plants at cluster level of villages, adding that this will help in immediate management of stubble.

Notably, the Chief Secretary had recently deputed 23 senior IAS officers as Secretary in-charges of all the 23 districts, who are consistently monitoring the situation and accordingly giving directions to the district administration. Besides this, the Chief Secretary was intensive reviewing the situation on a weekly basis to curb the stubble burning incidents.

The Chief Secretary said, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government was working hard to shun the trend of stubble burning incidents this year. He reiterated the Deputy Commissioner should specially honour such farmers at the district level, who shun the practices of stubble burning so as to sensitize other farmers to curb the farm fires.

IEP Chandigarh, October 31

With the decisive war against drugs waged on the directions of Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Mann to root out drugs entered fifth month, Punjab Police have arrested as many as 6997 drug smugglers including 1097 big fish since July 5, 2022. The Police have registered a total of 5346 first information reports (FIRs) of which 580 are related to commercial quantity.Inspector General of Police (IGP) Headquarters Sukhchain Singh Gill, who was addressing his weekly Press Conference here on Monday said that the Police teams have recovered 259.7Kg Heroin from across the state after carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas besides laying nakas at vulnerable routes across the state. Additionally, 147.5Kg heroin was recovered by the teams of Punjab Police from Seaports of Gujarat and Maharashtra, taking the total effective recovery of heroin to 406.5Kgs in just four months, he said.Apart from seizing big-haul of heroin, the IGP said that Police have also recovered 300Kg opium, 197.2Kg Ganja, 293 quintals of poppy husk, and 27.56 lakhs tablets/capsules/injections/vials of Pharma opioids from across the state. The Police have also recovered Rs 4.49 crores of drug money from the possession of drug smugglers arrested in these four months.Giving fortnightly update, the IGP said that in last two weeks, the police have arrested 508 drug smugglers/suppliers after registering 399 first information reports (FIRs), including 54 commercial, and recovered 26.5Kg Heroin, 17Kg opium, 13.8Kg Ganja, 19 quintals of poppy husk, and 1.20 lakh tablets/capsules/injections/vials of Pharma opioids besides recovering Rs 4.5 lakh drug money from their possession.He said that with seven more Proclaimed Offenders (POs)/Absconders in NDPS cases arrested in the last two weeks, the total number of arrests reached 383 since the special drive to arrest POs/absconders was started on July 5, 2022.Pertinently, Director General of  Police  (DGP), Punjab Gaurav Yadav had given strict instructions to all the CPs/SSPs to investigate backward and forward linkages minutely in each and every case, especially related to drug recoveries, even if they recover a meager amount of drugs. Meanwhile, on the direction of Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Mann to make Punjab a drug-free state, extensive anti-drug drives have been launched by the Punjab Police to combat the menace of drugs from the border State. The DGP has also strictly ordered all the CPs/SSPs to identify all hotspots where drugs are prevalent and all top drug smugglers in their jurisdictions. He also directed the Police chiefs to effectively forfeit the property of all the arrested drug smugglers so that their ill-gotten money could be recovered.

IEP Chandigarh, October 31

On the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal paid homage to the ‘Iron Man of India’ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

        The Chief Minister paid floral tributes to the portrait of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and urged the society to follow the path shown by him.

        “The Youth of the Nation should inculcate the spirit of Rashtriya Ekta among themselves as only then the country can move forward on the path of progress,” said Sh. Manohar Lal while speaking at the oath ceremony organized on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas held at Haryana Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on Monday.

        The Chief Minister said that October 31 is celebrated as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas across the country to mark the birthday celebrations of former Home Minister of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

        He said that Sardar Patel played a significant role in the freedom struggle, while after independence also dedicated his life to the Unity and Integrity of the country. 

Sardar Patel played a pivotal role in uniting 562 princely states

Sh. Manohar Lal said that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played an important role in uniting 562 princely states that were left by the British when India became independent. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took charge of the country’s Deputy Prime Minister as well as Home Minister, and with his wisdom, he united the  562 princely states to create a united India, said the Chief Minister.

Hence in this way he played an important role in strengthening the unity of the nation by facing the challenges after independence, the country will always be indebted to him, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi installed the Statue of Unity

        The Chief Minister said that the under the leadership of Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi first of its kind memorial ‘Statue of Unity’ dedicated in the memory of Sardar Patel has been constructed. The foundation stone of ‘The Statue of Unity’ was laid on October 31, 2013, and later it was inaugurated on October 31, 2018.

Sh. Manohar Lal said that the dream of a united India was realized by the Prime Minister with the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. 

Chief Minister administered Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Oath

        Chief Minister administered the oath of unity and integrity of the nation to his officers and officials, other officers and employees present in the Oath Ceremony.

‘I solemnly pledge that I dedicate myself to preserve the Unity, Integrity and Security of the Nation and also strive hard to spread this message among my fellow countrymen. I take this pledge in the spirit of the unification of my country which was made possible by the vision and actions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. I also solemnly resolve to make my own contribution to ensure the internal security of my country.’

IEP Chandigarh, October 29

Haryana Chief Minister said that in the last eight years, he has fulfilled his promise of bringing radical change in Haryana by providing honest and transparent governance.

I promise that in future also I will live up to the expectations of the people and set a better example, said Sh. Manohar Lal while directly interacting with the youth of the State during a  Samvad programme held virtually on Saturday. During this, he also answered the questions of some youth.

“Our government has laid special focus on chalking out a three ‘C’ strategy to uproot Corruption, Caste and Crime to provide honest and transparent administration to the people of the State. The government has strictly cracked down on criminals and gangsters.  Along with this, the noose has been tightened around those involved in corrupt practices. Those involved in examination scams have been put behind the bars. So far, 771 such people have been arrested, shared Sh. Manohar Lal. 

The Chief Minister said that corruption in jobs has been completely eradicated.  Today the youth of the state are getting jobs without Parchi Karachi.

The Youth of families who did not have any government jobs are given 5 per cent additional marks when they qualify for the jobs. Today youth are happy, they are getting jobs based on merit and hard work, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

“Following the motto of Haryana Ek – Haryanvi Ek, emphasis has also been given to promoting 5S — Shiksha, Swasthaya, Suraksha, Swabhiman and Swavlambhan to ensure holistic development of Haryana. Besides this we have done the work of ending the infamous culture of ‘pick and choose in transfer in jobs by introducing an online Transfer Policy,” added Sh. Manohar Lal. 

He said that the practice of interviews in Group C and D jobs has ended. Now youth aspiring for jobs have to do registration only one time to appear for government examination for three years.  Common Eligibility Test will be conducted for Group C and D. In this, about 11 lakh youth have applied, shared the Chief Minister.

1.52 lakh new Industries set up in Haryana in last 8 years

The  Chief Minister said that due to the business-friendly policies of the State Government, about 1.52 lakh new industries have been set up in Haryana in the last eight years.

“Thousands of youth got employment because of this. At the same time, 90,000  youth got government jobs on a merit basis. The government has collected the data of such families through Parivar Pehchan Patra, whose income is less than Rs 1 lakh. Now efforts would be made to increase their income at least upto 2 lakhs. Special Antyodaya Melas have been organised under the Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan yojana,” shared the Chief Minister.

He further shared that counselling of all such families is being done and simultaneously loans are being made available to them for their business. 17 departments are engaged in this work. So far, 30,000  families have been given loan sanction letters, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.

In the last six months, 49,000 have got Pension benefits through PPP

The Chief Minister said that through the State Government’s ambitious PPP scheme, an automatic pension disbursement system has been developed. Under this new revolutionary system about 49,000 have got pension benefits through PPP in the last six months, he informed.

In this new digital system, the beneficiary does not have to make rounds to the government offices to receive his due benefit, rather now the beneficiary has to just sign the acceptance form, added Sh. Manohar Lal. 

Educational reforms brought in Haryana

The Chief Minister said that radical changes have been brought in the field of education. 

The government has opened Sanskriti Model Schools.  Along with this, the KG-to-PG programme has been started in the University under the New Education Policy. A college has been constructed within a radius of 20 km for the convenience of girl students, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

He said that the demand of opening one medical college in every district has been fulfilled. There are 5 such districts left in the state, in which the work of the medical college is soon to start.

In 2014, MBBS seats in medical colleges across the State were 750, which has now increased to 1700.  After the construction of medical colleges in every district, the number of these seats will increase to 3,000, shared the Chief Minister.

Haryana has made a unique identity in the field of sports

The Chief Minister said that today Haryana has made a unique identity in the sports field.  The contribution of States players in the country’s medal tally is 60 percent.

The government has set a target to open a maximum number of sports nurseries across the state. 500 sports nurseries have been opened so far, informed Sh. Manohar Lal.

He further shared that new coaches are being recruited. Jobs are given to the medal-winning players. Haryana is being praised for the constant commendable  work being done in the field of sports, said the Chief Minister.

Continuous work being done to promote the agriculture sector

The Chief Minister said that continuous work is being done in the agriculture sector. The government has set a target to resolve the waterlogging problem on about 1 lakh acres of land.  In Haryana, 13 crops are being purchased at MSP.  Along with this, many crops of farmers are being compensated under Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana, informed Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister said that dedicated efforts have been made to promote cultivation of shrimp in Sirsa district, beekeeping in Kurukshetra, mushrooms in Sonipat, flowers in Gurugram and Faridabad, potatoes in Karnal and Yamunanagar.

Farmers in these areas are earning profit by doing this cultivation. Today Haryana has done a good job on stubble management.  About 4 lakh tonnes of stubble is being used, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.

In his concluding remarks, the Chief Minister said that ensuring the welfare of every section of society is among the topmost priorities of the State Government.

“The present pace of Haryana’s development will accelerate in future as well. I wish and aim to take my Haryana and the people of the state atop in terms of the development and delivery of citizen-centric services,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.

IEP Chandigarh, October 29

Haryana is all set to become the first state in the country to set up district-wise helipad facilities to tackle war and emergency-like situations. Inclusive arrangements will also be made so as to ensure proper night-landing facilities on these helipads. The State Government has started making efforts in this direction.

This was stated by Deputy Chief Minister, Sh. Dushyant Chautala while chairing a meeting with the officials of the Civil Aviation Department. During the meeting, he gave necessary directions to the officers concerned.

Sh. Dushyant Chautala said that the possibility of setting up a helipad in the district police lines should be worked out for ensuring a safe landing facility. With the development of this type of infrastructure, helicopter landings can be done in war and emergency-like situations.

Besides this, setting up of helipads in the police lines, all arrangements will also be made for the security of these helipads. The information system of the police is very strong, so these helipads can be accurately used in case of any emergency, said the Deputy Chief Minister.

Haryana will be the first state in the country to set up district-wise helipad facilities

The Deputy Chief Minister informed that recently a Civil Aviation Ministers’ Conference was held. During the conference, the need to build one helipad in every district of each State across the Country was discussed in detail. In this direction, the Haryana Government had expressed its desire to take this first-of-its-kind initiative by setting up district-wise helipad facilities to tackle any emergency-like situation.

Sh. Dushyant Chautala said that Haryana Government has always been at the fore in implementing the schemes and concepts launched by the Central Government in the State. The plan to set up helipads in every district will also be implemented soon. For this, instructions have been given to the Home Department and the Director General of Police to develop infrastructure. Certainly, Haryana will become the first state in which every district will have helipad facilities, he added.

Institute to be set up for imparting airport security training

The Deputy Chief Minister said that an institute would be set up in Haryana for imparting airport security training. He directed the officials to earmark the places in Hisar, Sirsa and Pinjore for this. He said that along with the youth of the state, the youth of other states would also be able to get training from this institute. With the setting up of this institute, Haryana’s position will become more robust in the aviation sector.

By April next year, new flights under the RCS UDAN scheme will start from Hisar

Sh. Dushyant Chautala said that under the regional connectivity scheme -Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), an action plan is being prepared to tie up with 7 other states to identify new routes from Hisar by April next year to strengthen air connectivity. With the success of this action plan, the citizens of the state will get wide access to air travel, he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister also took feedback from the officials regarding the construction of airstrip at Maharaja Agrasen International Airport, Hisar, and other infrastructure. He directed the officers concerned to expedite the process of making an alternate road for the Hisar-Barwala route. After the completion of this international airport, the development would get a boost in the entire state, he added.

He further said that he would visit Hisar airport on Monday and will take stock of the construction works.

Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Sh. TVSN Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Information Technology, Electronics and Communications Department, Sh. Anand Mohan Sharan, Director General of Police, Sh. PK Agarwal and officers of Civil Aviation Department also remained present in the meeting.