Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Sunday said that the State Government is ready to collaborate with its Bihar counterpart in key areas of agriculture, marketing, milk production and food processing.
Manohar lal, while interacting with the people of Haryana origin residing in Bihar at the Pravasi Haryana Sammelan in Patna said that a visit of the farmers of Bihar to Haryana could be arranged to acquaint them with the best farm practices and irrigation system.
About 83 per cent area in Haryana is irrigated and for covering the remaining 17 per cent, efforts are being made to bring the farmers on micro irrigation from flood irrigation, said he.
The Chief Minister said that it is for the first time in the last 30 years that water has reached 1,300 tail-ends in the state in Hisar, Bhiwani, Mahendergarh and Rewari. Water has been ensured in all ponds, especially in the areas falling under the dark zone for recharging purposes. The State Government has also constituted a Pond Authority to utilize the pond water for irrigation purposes, he added.
Manohar lal said Haryana had a robust system for marketing of agricultural produce. Out of the total 108 mandis (grain markets), 54 have been made online. A sum of Rs 2,000 crore received annually on account of market fee is being spent on strengthening the roads infrastructure leading to mandis.
As land holding is shrinking, farmers are being encouraged to adopt horticulture, floriculture and milk production instead of traditional farming of wheat and rice, he said.
The Chief Minister said that sizable population of Bihar was rendering services in different fields in Haryana, especially in the services sector. About 20 per cent of their total strength resides in the districts of Faridabad and Gurugram alone. “Recently, I had participated in the ‘Chath Pooja’ organized in Faridabad along with 25,000 people of Bihar where I fulfilled their several demands, including the setting up ‘Ghaat’ and facility of street lighting,” he added.
Manohar lal also said that as a result of the new Industrial and Enterprise Promotion Policy and close proximity of the state to the international airport in New Delhi, Haryana had emerged as a preferred destination for entrepreneurs of national and international repute.
Earlier, speaking on this occasion, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Sudhir Rajpal, said the aim of organizing Pravasi Haryana Sammelan was to maintain a dialogue with the people of Haryana origin residing in Bihar, besides encouraging them to invest in Haryana to boost the state’s economy and generate maximum employment opportunities for the youth.
Rajpal said Bihar and Haryana had a long association and a large numbers of people from Bihar are working in Haryana in different areas. Similarly, people from Haryana have also made their mark in Bihar and are playing a major role in its development and prosperity.
Constructive suggestions received at this sammelan to further connect the people of Haryana and Bihar would be considered, he added.