The new Haryana Government would work as a team to ensure people’s welfare, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar said on Wednesday.
“The new State Government would work as a team,” he said adding, people of the State have high hopes from his Government and efforts will be made to ensure their welfare. Earlier, Khattar formally inducted four Ministers who assumed charge of their respective offices in his presence at Haryana Civil Secretariat here.
Khattar visited the office of Education and Transport Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, Agriculture and Development and Panchayats Minister Om Prakash Dhankar, Public Works (Building and Roads) and Public Health Engineering Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu and remained present there while they assumed the charge of their respective departments.
The Chief Minister congratulated them and the Ministers offered him sweets.
Khattar, who took oath on Sunday last in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others, had allocated the portfolios to his nine Ministers.
later, interacting with mediapersons during the Workshop for Parliamentary Agriculture Committees in the India, Asia and South East Asia Region at Punjab and Haryana Vidhan Sabha Complex, Khattar said the State Government is committed to protect the interest of farmers.
On being asked about the procurement of paddy, he said that efforts would be made to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices of their produce.
Portfolios allocated
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar on late Tuesday allotted portfolios to the Ministers, retaining charge of Home and some other key departments. He will hold most departments including Home, Power, Town and Country Planning; Urban Estates, Science and Technology, IT, Information and Public Relations and Cultural Affairs, plus any department not specified to any Minister.
Capt Abhimanyu has been assigned Finance, Excise and Taxation; Revenue and Disaster Management, Forests and Environment, Industry and Commerce. Ram Bilas Sharma has been given the Education, Transport, Technical Education, Food and Supplies, Tourism, Civil Aviation, Parliamentary Affairs, among other departments.
Vij asks officers to go in field
Haryana Health, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, Anil Vij, has directed officers to avoid sitting in their offices, and instead go out in the field to evaluate the performance of their departments and submit their reports. Vij was talking to mediapersons after formally taking charge of his departments. He also presided over a meeting of senior officers at the Haryana Civil Secretariat.
“I would myself visit the field to verify the facts stated in the reports submitted. Besides, feedback would also be taken from the party workers and check teams. Officers found neglecting their duties would not be spared,” he added.
Asked about the slow pace of working of the new Government, Vij said that this Government believed in work and performance. It would work like a doctor who diagnoses the patient before administering any treatment. This Government is a horse of long race and such horses initially run slowly, he remarked.
Vij said that since earlier Governments were not effective, Government employees had developed the habit of not performing their duties.
It would be the priority of the State Government to make the employees accountable for their work. Available resources and infrastructure would be utilised for doing the work,
he added. Referring to the issue of the youth of Haryana getting drifted towards drugs, Vij said the effect could be seen in the border areas of the State adjoining Punjab. “I had a detailed discussion on this issue with the Director General of Police. I have directed him to constitute special teams to curb the menace of drugs in the State,”Vij added.
New Volvo Bus Service between Chandigarh and Jaipur
After assuming his office, Haryana Education, Transport and Food and Supplies Department Minister, Ram Bilas Sharma directed the Transport Department to start a Volvo bus service from Chandigarh to Jaipur and vice versa. Sharma said this was a long pending demand of the people which had been now met.