Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday assured the people of the State that he would bring waters from Bhakra for farms through the BMl Hansi Butana Canal.

Addressing a gathering in Abhinandan Samaroh in Bhiwani district, he said that some people have tried to halt the progress by dragging the matter to court, but he hoped that the Supreme Court would pass judgment in favour of Haryana.The capacity of the Western Yamuna Canal has been doubled to 3,000 cusecs from 1,500 cusecs so that there is no shortage of water for irrigation purposes in the area, he added.Hooda announced that an industrial estate would be set up on the land of the Cement Corporation of India factory which has been lying closed for many years.

The land is being purchased at the rate of Rs45 lakh per acre, and the State Government would get the possession by February, 2015. He said that the estate would provide employment opportunities to  the local people.

Responding to the demand for upgrading Dadri to the level of a district, Hooda said that since elections were approaching, he could not make any announcement at this stage, but “I promise that if the party wins Dadri and Badra seats, Dadri will be made a district”. He also ordered a survey in this connection. Hooda said that the farmers whose lands had been attached by cooperative banks due to non-payment of loans but still had the possession, could take back their land by clearing the dues.

Those farmers who could not avail themselves of the power bill waiver scheme, could now take the advantage by paying their dues up to December 31, 2014.“I will issue instructions to officers in this regard “, Hooda said. He also announced a sum of Rs6 crore for the development of the villages of Dadri besides Rs7 crore for the development of Dadri town.

Haryana is the first State in the country to give compensation at the rate of Rs10,000 per acre to the farmers for the loss of crops due to natural calamities. Hooda said that former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala claimed to be farmer-friendly, but had never taken any farmer-friendly decision.

While taking a dig at the Central Government, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, President, Dr Ashok Tanwar, said that the Central Government kept talking about taking decisions in the interest and welfare of the nation, but has instead given push to inflation by raising rail fares and hiking the prices of essential commodities.