IEP Chandigarh, November 4

Haryana Forest Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is all set to launch the “Trees Outside Forests in India (TOFI)” programme in Haryana, which will bring together farmers, companies, and other private institutions to rapidly expand tree coverage outside of traditional forests in the state. The official launch of the TOFI programme is scheduled on November 5, 2022 at Rohtak.

The new programme will enhance carbon sequestration, support local communities, and strengthen the climate resilience of agriculture, thereby supporting global climate change mitigation and adaptation goals.

Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that the Government of Haryana is giving a major thrust to agroforestry and tree plantations on lands outside the notified forest areas. With only 6.80 per cent of the area under forest and tree cover, the State has demonstrated its potential to support the country’s food and wood/timber needs by showcasing globally how a forest deficient state can be a wood surplus state. He said that we are strenuously working to increase the income of farmers in Haryana.

Giving more information, an official spokesperson said that the TOFI programme will further spur agroforestry and plantation campaigns outside of forests and help raise the income of the farmers while enhancing the green cover in the state. It will also support India’s Roadmap towards a Carbon Neutral Economy by 2070 and and India’s commitments related to Climate initiatives of Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi regarding ‘Panchamrita’ and ‘Mission LiFE’.

Highlighting the importance of the programme, Minister, Forests, and Tourism, Sh. Kanwar Pal stated that growing trees outside forest areas, especially adding more trees to mainstream agriculture can help the Haryana State achieve its goal of 20 percent area under forest and tree cover. The programme will contribute towards strengthening the policy environment, supporting TOF (Trees Outside Forests)- based enterprises, and providing technical support for the expansion of area under trees outside forests.

The Trees Outside Forests in India programme was launched in September 2022 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Secretary, Smt. Leena Nandan and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, Patricia Lacina.  The programme will allocate up to $25 million U.S. dollars over five years in seven states – Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh – with implementation support from the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (ICRAF).

The spokesperson stated that TOFI will rapidly expand tree coverage outside of traditional forests by 2.8 million hectares, an area larger than 13 states and union territories in India. The programme will contribute to India’s Nationally Determined Contribution target of creating an additional “carbon sink” of 2.5 to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030. He further added that this new programme builds on the enduring U.S.-India partnership to tackle the climate crisis and bolster resilience in the face of climate threats and extreme weather events.

IEP Chandigarh, November 4

National Green Tribunal, Chairperson, Justice Sh. Adarsh Kumar Goel while praising Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that the Haryana government’s initiatives for solid and liquid waste management are the best.“The Manohar Lal-led State Government always ensures meticulous implementation of all the orders issued by the NGT. An example of this is that Haryana has drafted a Policy for Treated Waste Water. Besides this the State has also done commendable work in the management of solid and liquid waste, “said, Justice Sh. Adarsh Kumar Goel, while speaking at the seminar on New Technologies for Liquid and Solid Waste Management organized in Faridabad today.During this, Haryana, Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal along with Union Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries, Sh. Krishan Pal, Transport Minister Sh. Mool Chand also remained present. Justice Sh. Adarsh Kumar Goel said that the Management of solid and liquid waste is very important as this issue goes unnoticed then everyone has to face the ill effects of this.He said that Haryana has taken significant decisions regarding the issue of pollution in Yamuna. The dumping of industrial waste from Sonipat and Panipat has been banned in Yamuna and STPs have been set up there.While praising Sh. Manohar Lal, Justice Sh. Adarsh Kumar Goel said that he has asked Haryana not to release treated water into rivers and while strictly adhering to these directions, the State Government not only stopped the release of the treated water but also chalked out strategies for its reuse.He said that like Haryana, others states should also take accountability at their own levels to resolve the problem of waste management.Now focus is on setting up small projects of waste management and water treatment plants, Sh. Manohar LalChief Minister said that work should be done on setting up small projects for solid waste management and water treatment and in view of this, seminars based on new technologies have been organized.He said that apart from setting up big projects, setting up small ones in any colony, locality and society etc has also become the need of the hour.“Today this topic has been discussed in detail and I am hopeful that today’s seminar will prove to be very beneficial for all the stakeholders. The positive results of such discussions would be seen when the suggestions discussed in this seminar would become a ground reality,” added Sh. Manohar Lal.The Chief Minister said that the State Government is working in this direction to play an important role in ensuring our contribution to the successful management of waste. However, along with the Government, society will also have to be made aware of this so as to ensure their contribution as well, as only then this problem will be resolved, said Sh. Manohar Lal.By 2030, 80 percent of the treated water will be reused“We should reuse the treated water as much as possible. Today Haryana is using 750 cusecs of treated water, by 2030, 80 percent of the treated water will be used. Before setting up STP anywhere in the state, it will be ensured to reuse treated water,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.He said that Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran has also been directed to lay double water pipelines in future. Along with this, treated water will also be reused in industries. There is a great need to save clean water. In the thermal plots of the state, the treated water of STP located in the adjoining 50 km will be used, said Sh. Manohar Lal.“We have to give the heritage of clean drinking water along with the economic wealth to the future generations and that is why the government has formulated Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Yojana,” said the Chief Minister.Renovation of pondsSh. Manohar Lal said that the ponds are being renovated across the state. Earlier the water of the pond was very clean, and could even be used to drink, but now the ponds are getting polluted and it is not clean enough that even animals can’t  drink that water.The Haryana Government has formed the Pond Authority. There are 18000 ponds in the state, out of which 1726 ponds have been identified. So far the work of restoration of 611 ponds has been completed. One by one soon all the ponds of the entire state will be renovated, said the Chief Minister.Management of scrapping of vehicles is also being doneThe Chief Minister said that the scrapping of vehicles is being done with the recycling the old vehicles. This step is certainly playing an important role in giving a boost to the circular economy. For this, a project has been started in Nuh with the support of the Government of India. Soon it will be started in other cities as well, said Sh. Manohar Lal.Need for public awareness on the use of single-use plasticSh. Manohar Lal said that there is a need for public awareness of the use of single-use plastic.“We should use jute, cloth and disposable bags. New startups are working on this. We need to make the entire society aware of waste management, only then these problems will be solved. We all have to work together for this good cause of making our surroundings clean and healthy,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.Justice Sh. Pritam Pal, MLA, Smt. Seema Trikha, MLA, Sh. Narender Gupta, MLA Sh. Nayan Pal Rawat, MLA, Sh. Rajesh Nagar, MLA, Sh. Neeraj Sharma and Chief Secretary, Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal and other senior officers also remained present.

IEP Chandigarh, November 2- 

  Haryana Chief Minister has termed unfortunate the statements being made by his Punjab counterpart Sh. Bhagwant Mann on pollution caused by stubble burning.He said that instead of finding a solution to stubble burning, Maan is doing politics of blame games and counter-accusation.”Bhagwant Maan instigating the farmers, instead of  levelling false allegations against Centre Government. Instead of doing this, he should chalk out a detailed strategy to tackle stubble management”, said Sh. Manohar Lal.The Chief Minister said that Punjab should follow Haryana’s footsteps and incentivize farmers for stubble management.The Chief Minister said that the incidents of stubble burning in Haryana have come down by 25 percent this year.  So far in the year 2022, only 2249 incidents of farm fires have been reported in Haryana, whereas in Punjab these incidents have increased by 20 per cent. So far, 21,500  such incidents have been reported in Punjab, added Sh. Manohar Lal.He said that like Haryana, Punjab should also make arrangements for stubble management.  A provision of giving an incentive of Rs 1000 per acre has been made by the Haryana government to those who do not burn stubble.Besides this, Rs. 50 per quintal incentive amount and subsidy on straw management equipment are given to the farmers for making stubble bales.  Farmers are being given a 50 percent subsidy on equipment for crop residue management and an 80 percent subsidy on custom hiring centres, informed Sh. Manohar Lal.He said that if the farmer takes stubble bales to the Ethanol Plant in Karnal and Panipat, then he is given an incentive of Rs. 2000  per acre.  Furthermore, if a farmer takes stubble in Gaushalas, then an incentive amount of Rs 1500 is given to them, informed the Chief Minister.Not only this, Haryana is also giving cash rewards of up to Rs 10 lakh to the panchayat for not burning stubble in the Red Zone area. Last year, the government made a provision of Rs 216 crore for stubble management, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.The Chief Minister said that AAP leaders first announce freebies and then expect help from the central government to fulfill their fake promises.Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal earlier blamed the farmers of Punjab and Haryana for the pollution in Delhi and now his entire blame game has shifted to Haryana only as his party has come to power in Punjab. The same is the case with the Yamuna in Delhi, in which pollution levels are so high that it has become like a  drain.  Instead of doing petty politics, the Aam Aadmi Party governments in Delhi and Punjab should do some work in public welfare,” added Sh. Manohar Lal.He said that the incidents of stubble burning are monitored by satellite and there is no doubt that the Punjab government has completely failed in farm fire management.”The Maan-led government is blaming its failure on the central government which is very unfortunate.  The stubble-burning issue has remained serious for many years, but it seems that  Punjab is bought playing petty politics rather than finding a solution. Maan government should give incentives to the farmers like Haryana and should not also depend on the central government or anyone else to resolve their issues,” said Sh. Manohar Lal. 

IEP Chandigarh, November 2

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister, Sh. Dushyant Chautala while presiding over the meeting of the officers of Food and Supplies Department at his office, has reviewed in detail about the district wise arrival, purchase and payment related to paddy crop.

The Deputy CM further said that the smooth procurement of paddy this time in the history of Haryana is commendable, in which the cooperation of departmental officers and farmers has played a special role. Moreover, this time, the farmers did not face any problem in the sale and payment of paddy, he added.

During the meeting, Sh. Dushyant Chautala was further informed that 210 mandis were opened for paddy procurement in ‘Kharif procurement season 2022-23’ in which 55,10,156 metric tonnes of paddy have been procured till November 1, 2022. In this, the Food and Supplies Department has procured 50 percent, Hafed 30 percent, the Food Corporation of India 5 percent and Haryana Warehousing Corporation 15 percent paddy. As far as district wise paddy procurement is concerned, the agencies have procured the maximum number of 11,75,378 MT in Kurukshetra and 10,85,575 MT in Karnal.

On the occasion, Commissioner and Secretary, Food and Supplies Department, Sh. Pankaj Agarwal, Director-General of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Sh. Hardeep Singh, Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Sh. KM Pandurang, Managing Director of Haryana State Warehousing Corporation, Dr. Shaleen, OSD to Deputy Chief Minister, Sh. Kamlesh Bhadu and other senior officers were also present.

IEP Chandigarh, November 2

Haryana State Transport will provide free pick-and-drop facility to the candidates appearing for the CET examination to be held on November 5 and 6. Along with this, one family member travelling with women candidates can also avail this free travel facility provided they show their PPP ID.

For ensuring hassle-free travel, arrangements of about 13,700 buses have been made. Almost all ordinary route buses will be used for this travel facility, therefore an appeal has been made to the people to make less use of public transport on the dates when the said exam is scheduled.

Around 11.36 lakh candidates are likely to appear in the CET exam. For this examination, the transport department will arrange travelling facilities for the candidates from the nearest sub-divisional bus stand or nearest district-level bus stand to the nearest sub-divisional bus stand or district-level bus stand of the examination centre.

At the district level, pick-and-drop arrangements will be made for the candidates from the sub-divisional bus stand or district level bus stand to the examination centers. This entire travelling arrangement will be closely monitored by a committee constituted under the Additional Deputy Commissioner of the district.

Arrangements are made for the candidates to reach the nearest bus stands of the respective examination centres in both the shifts

The reporting for the morning shift in the examination center is 8:30 am and for the evening shift is 1:30 pm. Therefore, the drop-off to the nearest bus stand will be at 7:00 am for morning shift and 12:00 noon for evening shift. Similarly, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm candidates can travel back to their homes. The drop-off time for the candidates appearing for evening shift has been fixed from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.

All the buses will have a common route number

For the convenience of the candidates, all the buses will have a common route number. The route number of all those buses will be the same from the district from which the buses will begin their pickup and drop journey.

Advance booking to start from November 3 to 4

Directions have been issued to all the General Managers for ensuring arrangements of advance booking at the bus stands of the depot/sub depots. All the candidates are requested to make advance bookings by visiting their nearest depot/sub depot from 9:00 am on November 3 will continue till 5:00 pm on November 4 so that on the day of examination they do not face any inconvenience.

Haryana State Transport is providing safe, comfortable and time-bound transport facility to the passengers in the state. The State Transport operates about 3097 buses from its 24 depots and 13 sub depots covering a distance of 8.93 lakh kms per day and provides travel facility to about 4.35 lakh passengers per day.

The objective of Haryana State Transport is to provide safe and accessible travel to the people of the state, as well as to fulfill the social obligations and to make available the facilities being provided by the government to the people of the state in a hassle free manner.

IEP Chandigarh, November 1

 Haryana State Election Commissioner, Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that all the preparations have been made for the election of Panch and Sarpanch of the first phase in the state. Polling will be held on November 2 for 2607 Sarpanch and 25,968 Panch in 9 districts Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Mahendragarh, Nuh, Panchkula, Panipat and Yamunanagar.

 State Election Commissioner, Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that all the preparations related to security and other facilities have been completed in the nine districts where the first phase of polling is going to be held. Guidelines have been issued to all the supervisors. Along with this, a heavy police force has been deployed at sensitive polling booths. Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that keeping in view the convenience of the voters, arrangements have been made for drinking water, electricity and wheel chair for disabled voters at all polling booths.

 Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that the results of Panch and Sarpanch polls will be declared only after the elections. The voting of Panchayat Samiti members and Zilla Parishad Committee members of the first phase has been completed on October 30. The results of these elections will be declared on November 27 after the completion of the elections of Panchayat Samiti members and Zilla Parishad members in all 22 districts.

 Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that the activities of Panchayat elections will be updated on the ‘Mhari Panchayat Portal’. Voting percentage can be seen anywhere in the state by opening the Mhari Panchayat Portal through the internet. At the same time, the results will be visible on the e-dashboard on the day of counting. Anyone can see the election trends, voting percentage and final results on the portal while sitting at home.

State Election Commissioner Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that 49,67,092 voters of 9 districts will cast their votes in the first phase of polling. 6019 polling booths have been set up in these 9 districts. Voting will be held to elect 2607 Sarpanch and 25,968 Panch.