Facing allegations of dividing the farmers of two agrarian states on the issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link canal amid ongoing farmers’ agitation, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Sunday said that in a democratic country, states cannot run arbitrarily and Punjab will have to give up its stubbornness over the issue of SYL.He hoped that Haryana will definitely get its rightful share of water. The Chief Minister while addressing a Jal Adhikar Rally at ITI ground in Narnaul said that the SYL case had been pending for decades. As soon as the present government was formed, a plea to hear the matter ahead of time was made, after which the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Haryana. The court had asked the Chief Ministers of both the states to sit down and decide but Punjab did not agree to give Haryana its rightful share, he said.
He said that in democracy, there is a way to protest. Protests can be made before the House and the media or by gathering democratically.
We should talk about SYL water with the farmers of Punjab sitting on the border, he added.A day before, the BJP leaders in Haryana protesting in support of the farm laws and demanding Haryana’s share of water from Punjab through the SYL had faced the farmers’ wrath. The farmers had accused the saffron party of trying to divide farmers of the two states.
Speaking on the three central farm laws, Manohar Lal assured the farmers that he would leave politics if there is any kind of threat to Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The Chief Minister said that all three new agricultural laws are for the benefit of farmers. This will free the farmers from bondage.
He also tried to clear the misconceptions of the farmers of the state regarding the three Agricultural Laws passed by the Central Government amidst the slogans 'Haryana Ne Thana Hai, SYL Ka Paani Laana Hai'.
Manohar Lal said that only a handful of people are opposing these laws, as they have been misled by some political parties. Sincere efforts have been made to convince the farmers by ensuring that an eight-page letter of the Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar reaches 7 lakh people. On reading this letter carefully misconceptions being spread by the opposition will be cleared, he added.
He said that Congress always believes in maintaining the status quo. This is the reason why the farmers have not been able to get their rights since the Independence of the country. The present government is making efforts to enhance the storage facilities and sales procedures so as to increase farmers' income, however, some political parties are trying to take advantage of the situation, he added.Lashing out at the opposition, he said that the opposition parties are trying to deceive the farmers in which they will never succeed. The opposition does not want the farmers' income to increase so that they can take good care of their children.
The Chief Minister said that the government will procure the crop from farmers in the mandis at MSP, but if the farmer wants to sell it outside at a higher price, he will have complete freedom to do so. In addition, these new laws also aim to improve the storage system, he added. Manohar Lal further said that under this reform process, the government has made 88 mandis online out of 104 mandis in the state. Due to lack of proper storage, every year there is loss of food grains worth Rs. 30,000 crore in the country. Even in Haryana, food grains worth Rs 700 crore go bad, therefore the government is making efforts to save this food grain, he added.
Highlighting initiatives taken by the farmers, the Chief Minister also said that in the interest of the farmers of the state, a new micro-irrigation scheme has been started. Bhiwani-Dadri and Mahendragarh districts have been included under this scheme. Under this, water will be made available to fields where there is scarcity. The farmers there will be provided irrigation equipment at 80 percent subsidy, he added.
He said that the government will make arrangements in every possible way to provide water if a farmer comes up with a plan to bring 25 acres of land under irrigation from January 1, 2021. A scheme worth Rs 2000 crore has been made to raise the groundwater level in southern Haryana, by releasing excess rainwater into the rivers Krishnavati, Dohan, and Sahabi. Similarly, the MoU of Renuka-Kishau dam has been done and the MoU of Lakhwar dam will be signed soon. This work will be completed in a time-bound manner, he added