Chandigarh, May 16 - Haryana, Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal today expressed his special gratitude towards Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi for including several welfare schemes for the benefit of small shopkeepers, farmers and labourers, agriculture sector, infrastructural up gradation of the Mandis and ensuring ‘roof above all’ while announcing a mega economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore. He informed that a separate department namely ‘Housing for All” has already been set up in Haryana. Apart from this, the State Government has also planned to start a Rental Housing Scheme.

The Chief Minister was interacting with the people of the State during the 'Haryana Aaj' programme, today.

The Chief Minister said that the mega economic package announced by the Central Government at the time of the global COVID Pandemic will definitely benefit the Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (MSMES) in Haryana and would further strengthen Prime Minister's vision of 'Make in India'. This will increase the self-sufficiency of MSMEs and also increase the export opportunities, he added.

He said that the Prime Minister has announced the economic package aimed to make India “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. However Haryana has already taken initiative in this direction in its 2020-21 budget, focused on 4S principles of shiksha (education), swasthya (health), suraksha (safety) and swavlamban (self-reliance). He said that in all the 22 districts, a special cluster plan is being made for the expansion of the industrial sector.

The Chief Minister thanked the Prime Minister for including ‘Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana; which was introduced in the state three years back for promoting cultivation of vegetables, horticulture and other crops and for suggesting implementation of this scheme across the country. He said that under the project, 500 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have already been set up in Haryana and now the number would be increased to 1500 so that farmers can easily sell their crops. He said the State Government has also formulated a scheme under which the farmers can directly sell their produce from their fields.

The Chief Minister said that the Union Government has announced an economic package for every sector to revive all kinds of industrial and economic activities and Haryana is already taking concrete steps in this battle against Corona. He said that because of lockdown, many industries were shut down due to which many workers have lost their jobs. Therefore, keeping in view the interest of all such workers, a separate plan is being formulated to utilize these workers by imparting special skill trainings to them so that they can diversify their profession. He said that it is our priority to bring the economy back on track.

The Chief Minister also thanked the Central Government for making provisions in the economic package for strengthening Mandis that include availability of dryers for removing moisture from the crops. He said that now the procurement of Rabi crops in mandis is in full swing and proper procurement arrangements have been made by the State Government despite the lockdown. He said that new schemes have also been included for the expansion of agriculture and allied areas. He said that on the similar lines of Kisan Credit Card, a Credit card scheme for fisheries and animal husbandry would also be introduced, which is a welcome step. The Union Government has formulated ‘Pradhan Mantri matsya-sampada yojana’ scheme under which a provision of Rs 20,000 crore has been made. He said that as Haryana has a large scope of fisheries on saline and alkaline land and the farmers of the State could get benefits of Rs. 400 to 500 crore.

He said that we should take a pledge to utilize this time as we do not know for how long this crisis would continue. He further said that the present circumstances demand that we bring about a change in our lifestyle and adopt social distancing as a way of life. Central government is also making important changes in government functioning.

The Chief Minister, while reiterating his commitment to fight the battle against Corona virus said,” We will defeat Corona and eradicate it from India.