Chandigarh, June 30 – Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal said that, public campaign will be launched for water conservation in the state to make people aware. Apart from this, all the ponds in the state will be filled with water and there would be no shortage of water in any area or house. He said that Haryana will get its share of water at any cost. Efforts are being made and the Central Government is aware that the water of India should not go to Pakistan, which will be useful in irrigation of large area of Haryana. The Chief Minister said that a 20-kilometer new canal will be constructed by the Irrigation Department from Yamunanagar to MLL (Indri) and the water will be released in it and the canal will be merged in WJC.

The Chief Minister was interacting with media persons after laying foundation stones and inaugurating development works worth Rs 95 crore in Karnal today.

He said that according to the Central Government's plan, the work is under progress to make Karnal a smart city. The Chief Minister said that the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi is concerned about water conservation and he has called upon people of the country through ‘Mann Ki Baat’ that every person should conserve water for future. The State Government is also working in this direction, he added.

Mr. Manohar Lal said that water conservation has become necessary for bright future. As many as 200 districts of the country have been declared as Dark Zone, of which 18 districts are of Haryana. He said that farmers had also been requested to reduce paddy cultivation and adopting alternate farming. While saving water, the farmers of the state, instead of doing paddy cultivation, cultivated different crops on 40,000 hectares of land. For this, he has expressed gratitude to the farmers of the state. He said that the Haryana Government has also decided to provide free seed, Rs. 2,000 and the amount of premium under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana to those farmers who have cultivated new crops. Apart from this, the government also decided to purchase new crop in its own mandis and farmers need not worry about it.

The Chief Minister said that many efforts are being made to improve the water system in the state. About Rs 2,200 crore is being spent on cleaning and construction of canals.

The Chief Minister Manohar Lal today inaugurated various development works worth Rs 3.96 crore from the Panchayat Bhawan of Karnal today. These included inauguration of seven entrance gates made by Municipal Corporation in the city at a cost of Rs 80.70 lakh, road from village Bansa to Jundala constructed by Marketing Board at a cost of over Rs 2.11 crore and road from village Jundala to Katalaheri at a cost of Rs. 1.4 crore.

The Chief Minister also laid foundation stones of six development works to be constructed at a cost of Rs 91 crore, which included construction of community centre in Shiv Colony at a cost of Rs. 70 lakh, an entrance gate on Karnal to Indri turn in the memory of Aatm Manohar Muni Ji Maharaj at a cost of Rs 67.69 lakh, work of water supply system under AMRUT scheme for the villages of Karnal city and adjoining villages at the cost of Rs 13 crore, work of roads and drains in various colonies of the city at a cost of about Rs 36 crore, work of water supply and integrated drain in the outskirts of municipal corporation at the cost of Rs 36.62 crore and PHC to be established in village Sagga at a cost of Rs 3.91 crore.

Chandigarh, June 30 – Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal said that Inter District Council has been set up in Haryana for making the Municipal Corporation and other local bodies independent. This formation will help the local bodies to develop their own areas at their own level and they will be able to spend according to their income. This process will reduce the pressure of the State Government on such bodies.

He said that there should be a session in the Municipal Corporation on the lines of the Vidhan Sabha, meeting of the Municipal Corporation should be held every month, and discussions on the development of the Municipal Corporation should be held in these sessions. Mayor would be Speaker of these sessions and the MLAs, senior officers and other VIPs would sit in gallery. Such system will be set up in the state and the Karnal Municipal Corporation has been selected for this purpose. He said that when this happens, all the problems will be resolved immediately and the provision of the budget and expenditure for the development works will also be made in the session.

The Chief Minister Manohar Lal was reviewing the progress of the ongoing development works with the Councilors of Municipal Corporation and officials, in Karnal today. He said that they should take special care of the sewerage system, electricity and water system and cleanliness in their wards.

He said that the State Government has formed Inter District Council, which will ensure development at the local level. The Chief Minister will be the chairman of this Council and the local units of every district have been included in this. He said that urban units would have only one head, so that they could coordinate properly.

The Chief Minister said that in order to do better work in the Municipal Corporation, departmental committees should be constituted on every subject on the lines of Vidhan Sabha, in which the councilors of the ruling party and the opposition will be included. Among these topics, committees especially of lights, sanitation, water conservation, sewerage and accounting are essential.

On the demand of the councillor, the Chief Minister directed the officers to connect the drinking water tube well to the hotline which has been made for all services such as power and water. It should be immediately linked to the drinking water. When the Chief Minister asked the officers about the condition of the Mughal canal, the officers apprised him that the condition of the Mughal canal is good and cleanliness is going on. All the water of the city will be connected to this line, he added.

When the Chief Minister asked the officers that information has been received poor cleanliness in the city of Karnal, the Commissioner said that the Karnal Municipal Corporation is doing the door-to-door collection and lifting is also being done on time.