Chandigarh, August 15: Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal today hoisted the National flag and took the salute of the parade at the state-level function organized in Faridabad on the occasion of 75th Independence Day. Earlier, he paid floral tributes to the martyrs at the district level war memorial site.

In his inaugural address, the Chief Minister congratulated the people of the state on the 75th Independence Day. He said that today we are celebrating the festival of freedom as this day has become an integral part of our self-respect and self-esteem. He added that today the entire nation is expressing its gratitude towards the fighters who laid down their lives for India.

The Chief Minister said that the Nation will always remember the supreme sacrifice made by thousands of martyrs who laid down their lives for the country including Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Ram Prasad Bismil, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Chandra Shekhar Azad and many others.

The contributions of many patriots including Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, former Prime Minister, Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister, Sh. Chaudhary Devi Lal can never be forgotten, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

He said that today the entire world is acknowledging India’s progress under the phenomenal leadership of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi and revolutionary changes are now visible in the field of development in the country too.

The Chief Minister said that on this day in the year 2019, Jammu and Kashmir got complete independence and Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi and Home Minister Sh. Amit Shah took the courageous task of abolishing Article 370 after 70 years.

Last year on August 5, 2020, by laying the foundation stone of Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya, the decades-old dispute was resolved. Many such bold decisions of the Central Government have given impetus to the creation of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' to ‘Navbharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat’ India, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

Referring to the development policies, Chief Minister said that the present state government has given special emphasis to inclusive development of the people of the country and the state. Under this, many unprecedented schemes have been started including Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for affordable residential houses, SVAMITVA Yojana, Soil Health Card, Skill Development and Mudra loan for employment and economic independence and for the making a new modern India start-up, E-Rupee and Digital India have been initiated.

He said that Prime Minister, Sh. Modi has strengthened the internal and external security circle for the upliftment of the country, the glory of Mother India and raising the honour of the country in the world. For this, the army has been equipped with the world's best fighter aircraft like Rafale, boosting the morale of the sea, land and air force. Due to these works, India has been recognized as a powerful nation at the international level. Our government has earned 'Sabka Vishwas' from the mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', added Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister said that the people and youth of the country have made a special contribution to these positive changes that are taking place in India. The Government of India has extended the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme till March 2022 to emerge from the circumstances arisen due to the Pandemic. Through this, employers are being encouraged to create jobs so that youth having low income can get benefits, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

He said that India has moved towards becoming self-reliant by manufacturing masks, sanitizers, oxygen, medical equipment and COVID-vaccine in the country to deal with the global COVID-19 Pandemic. Due to the efficient management of the Prime Minister, not only the COVID-19 vaccine is being given free to all the people above the age of 18 in the country, but many countries of the world have also been helped, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister further said that on the lines of the Central Government, the State Government is working on the principle of 'Equal Opportunity, Equal Development' in Haryana. He said that the State Government has taken many steps for the upliftment of the people of the state including  ensuring  Security, Education, Health, Electricity supply, Sports, Self-Reliance along with strengthening infrastructure in other areas so that Haryana could become a prosperous and happy state. Our government is celebrating the year 2021 as the year of good governance. Under this, a concrete strategy has been made to make the law and order situation better in the state.

He said that Dial 112 service has been started for providing timely and quick assistance to women, elderly and needy people. By seeking help on this, the police, including medical facilities, are reaching out to the complainant within a time span of 15 to 20 minutes. SIT and Narcotics Bureau have been formed to make Haryana drug-free and to crack down on Kabutarbazi who are fraudulently duping youth of the state to foreign countries.

The Chief Minister said that the present State Government has a target to completely implement the National New Education Policy in the state by the year 2025. Under this, quality education will be provided to the students from class I to XII, smart classrooms and modern dual desks, solar panels will be provided to government schools along with other modern facilities. To provide an excellent education in the state, 113 new Sanskriti Model Schools and new government colleges have been opened and 4,000 play-way schools are being opened for the children to get first-class elementary education, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister further said that monthly assistance of Rs. 2500 per month is being given to the children who were orphaned due to COVID-19 Pandemic under the Mukhyamantri Bal Sewa Yojana. Parivar Pehchan Patra are being made so as to ensure that people do not have to run from pillar to post for getting the benefit of government schemes. Besides this, the government has started pension for Hindi Satyagrahis and journalists and the amount being given under Old Age Samman Allowance, Ladli Social Security Allowance and Divyang, Dwarf, Eunuch, Widow pension have been increased to Rs 2500 per month, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

He said that for the welfare of soldiers, the government has decided to set up 'Integrated Sainik Sadan’ in eight districts including Narnaul, Palwal, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind, Nuh, Fatehabad and Rewari. An amount of about Rs 100 crore will be spent on setting up these Sadans. Besides this, Staff Selection Commission has started one-time registration scheme for government jobs. The State Government in its tenure so far has given government jobs to more than one lakh youth in a transparent manner, asserted Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister said that about 1.35 lakh youth have been given work under the Saksham Yuva scheme, on which about Rs 1437 crore has been spent. Our government has given the approval to change the name of Hisar airport to Maharaja Agrasen Airport. Haryana Smart Village Authority has been constituted to make the villages of the state smart, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

He informed that Under the 'Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon' scheme, 24 hours electricity is being provided to 5309 villages of the state who pay their electricity bills on time. Along with this, solar power plants of 1613 kW capacity were installed in 330 gaushalas at a cost of Rs. 9.19 crores. Affordable LED bulbs, solar lights and AC are being made available on subsidy to the people of the state. Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, 75 percent subsidy has been provided to farmers for installing standalone solar agriculture pumps of 3 HP to 10 HP capacity.

The Chief Minister said that to promote yoga in the state, Haryana Yoga Commission has been constituted and yoga and Vyamshalas have been opened in 600 villages of the state. For the first time in the state, ‘Khelo India Youth Games’ and BRICS Games are also being organized in Haryana, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

The players of Haryana performed excellently in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympic-2020 in Tokyo. We have won three medals out of the total seven medals won by the country. Winning one gold, one silver and one bronze medal in singles competition, Haryanvi lads have made the state and country proud, said the Chief Minister.

He said that not only this, two players from Haryana were the part of Indian men’s Hockey Team who won bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics-2020. Compared to the country, only 25 percent of the players of Haryana participated in the Olympics, whereas Haryana has won nearly 60 percent of the medals out of the total medals won by the country, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister said that as per the State’s Sports Policy cash rewards of Rs 6 crore, Rs. 4 crore, Rs. 2.5 crore are being given to the gold, silver and bronze medal winners respectively.  Besides this, cash rewards of Rs. 50 lakh is also being given to the players of the state who finished fourth in the Olympics.  Rs. 15 lakh each has been given to all the participating players. The government has decided to open 'Har-Hith' Retail Store to provide employment to the educated youth, in this the government will help the youth at every step of the way, he added.

The Chief Minister said that significant decisions have been taken by the State Government for the convenience of the farmers. The farmers can first make their offer to the government as  potential buyers for selling the land if they want to sell their land under any circumstances.  For this, a Policy has been formulated to create land banks for Government Departments, Boards and Corporations and ensure transparency in their operations.

 He said that many public-friendly decisions have also been taken by the State Government during its tenure. These include the construction of affordable houses for different sections increasing the minimum wage of workers,  giving jobs on  merit basis,  starting online transfer process in many departments, the opening of 'Umde Kendra' for tele-counseling of children and creation of Oxyvan.

Besides this, Morni is being developed as a tourism hub. The government has made most of the government schemes online to crackdown on corruption. A positive environment has been created in the state for the safety of Women, education of Daughters and further ensuring the economic Upliftment of the common man, added, Sh. Manohar Lal.

During the function, various contingents of Haryana Police, NCC, NSS performed march past. After that, the students showcased their talent by performing Yoga and PT show. The school students also graced the Independence Day celebrations by presenting cultural programmes. In the last phase of Independence Day celebrations, the people who have done extraordinary work in various areas of social work in the district and the officers and employees who performed well while giving government services to the people were also honoured with awards and letters of recommendation.