Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday sought Central Government’s intervention in resolving the long pending issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) and Hansi-Butana Link Canal so that the State could get its legitimate share of river water.
“To overcome the water shortage problem in the State, the Government will soon be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Kishau dam. Besides this, MoUs have already been signed with the Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh Government for Lakhwar and Renuka dam,” informed the CM.
Speaking during the sixth Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog held under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi through video conferencing, Khattar apprised the Prime Minister about several steps taken by the State Government for promoting water conservation and said that at present maximum area of the State is converting into dark zone, therefore if the SYL and Hansi-Butana Link Canal issue is resolved then the problem of water scarcity in Haryana would be addressed immediately.
Highlighting the fact that though in GST collection, Haryana is at the forefront but despite that due to Input Tax Credit, the State gets only 20 percent GST, urging the Prime Minister to formulate a plan for incentivizing the states having the maximum GST collection.
He said that the State Government with the spirit of Antyodaya is already moving swiftly in this direction and efforts are being made for successful implementation of the first of its kind States's ambitious Parivar Pehchan Patra scheme to ensure that person standing last in the queue gets the benefit of government schemes.
On the steps being taken by the State Government for ‘Making India a Global Manufacturing Hub’ , the Chief Minister apprised the Prime Minister that for reducing compliance burden at state level and Ease of Doing Business, Haryana Enterprise and Employment Policy 2020 has been launched. Besides this, 100 percent implementations of District Level Action Plan have been achieved. Compliance Burden has also been reduced by eliminating the requirement of renewal of licences under various Acts.
The Chief Minister informed that for minimizing the Cost of Doing Business by improving Logistics/transportation, Logistics and Warehousing Policy, 2019 has been launched. An Integrated Multi-Modal Logistics Hub at Narnaul has been developed. Apart from this, the International Horticulture Market is being developed at an approximate cost of Rs 7000 crore in Ganaur. Flower Market is being established in Gurugram. To facilitate trade in apples, an apple market is under establishment in Panchkula. Besides this, Masala Market is also under establishment in Sirsa.
Khattar informed that for promoting agriculture, aligning the cropping system to Agro-Climatic Conditions at district levels is being done for optimum resource use. Apart from this ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat Scheme to diversify the paddy crop into alternative crops like maize, cotton, bajra, pulses, vegetables, and fruits and as a result of which sowing of other crops in place of Paddy is being done on 97,000 acres of land. An amount of Rs. 7000 is being given as an incentive to the farmers for adopting crop diversification, said the CM.
He said that for the Haryana Water Resource Authority promoting water conservation, Haryana Water Resource Authority and Haryana Pond and Wastewater Management Authority have been constituted. Besides this, Re-use of treated wastewater policy with an objective to use 25 percent of treated wastewater for non-portable uses has also been launched.
Khattar said at present Haryana is giving the highest price of Rs 350 per quintal to sugarcane farmers. Apart from this, various crops such as Gram, Mustard, Sunflower, Bajra and Maize are being procured on MSP by the State Government. He said that an area of 17216 hectares has been brought under fish culture which has produced 1.91 lakh MT fish in the State. Producing white shrimp in the Saline affected areas and getting good results, he added.