Chandigarh, May 31 - Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal said that instead of sowing paddy, farmers should adopt cultivation of alternate crops like maize, oilseeds etc, so that they can pave a way towards gifting a land with adequate groundwater level to their future generations as an inheritance. He said that considering water conservation issue as need of the hour; 'Mera Pani Meri Virasat' scheme has been launched by the State Government. Under this scheme, farmer willing to adopt crop diversification would get an incentive of Rs 7000 per acre from the government, he added.
The Chief Minister said this while interacting with the farmers of three development blocks namely Guhala, Siwan, and Ismailabad (Kurukshetra)today. During the interaction, the farmers were made aware of the implementation of this scheme. Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Mrs. Kamlesh Dhanda, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs, Mr. Sandeep Singh, MP Nayab Saini, and other dignitaries and officers were also present on this occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that so far 2033 farmers of Kaithal district have agreed to plant alternative crops in about 4500 acres of land instead of paddy. The farmers who attended the interaction session described ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat' the scheme as an important step taken by the State Government. All wore masks and adhered to social distancing norms during the meeting. During the interaction, the Chief Minister also answered the queries of farmers regarding this scheme.
While addressing the farmers, the Chief Minister said that the present State Government’s thinking is not limited to politics only rather it thinks much above politics, so that in the coming time too, the environment remains suitable for the farmers.
He said that the water crisis is a huge concern, in some places water is present in large quantity while in some there is less water. Somewhere there is drought and in some places, there is a flood situation. Water is also important for maintaining the environmental balance, irrigation, and for drinking.
The Chief Minister said that only efficient management of water would help to save water for future generations and for this, the State has moved towards drip irrigation. He said that under a project of paddy production through sprinkler irrigation started at Gumthala Gadhu, production is almost equal to the paddy produced with normal methods. Farmers from the Pehowa region also agreed upon this matter.
The Chief Minister said that there was some delay in starting the ‘Jal hi Jeevan Yojana’ last year. However, this year, the execution of ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat’ was started in the month of April itself so that the farmer does not leave dry land for his future generations. He said that the groundwater level has been going down continuously since the year 2008 and the farmer has to put a new pipe in the bore every year. Thus in the last ten years, the water level has gone down by 100 feet. To ensure that the water crisis does not worsen, through ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat’ farmers have been appealed to, to voluntarily take steps to save water, he added.
The Chief Minister said that under this scheme, the farmers of those areas where the groundwater level is 40 meters or deeper have been advised to adopt crop diversification by sowing other crops namely maize, cotton, millet, pulses, vegetables, and fruits in their paddy fields. For sowing the other crops, farmers would be given an incentive amount of Rs. 7000 per acre, he added.
He said that 85 percent subsidy is also available under drip irrigation on growing alternative crops. He said that the crop insurance for growing maize, millet, cotton, and pulses instead of paddy would be at government expense and these crops would be procured at the Minimum Support Price. He said that if any farmer sows fodder in flood-prone areas, then the State Government would buy it.
The Chief Minister said that in the last three years, every single grain of millet and mustard has been procured by the State Government. He reiterated that the government would make 100 percent purchase of farmers sowing maize. He also said that all those who would adopt crop diversification would get an incentive of Rs. 7000 per acre in addition to which they would also become entitled to get the benefits under Prime Minister's crop scheme. Thus, they would get an incentive of Rs. 7700 per acre. He said that the farmers who are ready for this should get their registration done immediately. At the time of sowing the crop, an amount of Rs. 2000 would be released as the first installment and later another installment of Rs. 5000 would be given to the farmers. Paddy alternates would also be considered by DSR method, in flood-prone areas of the eight identified blocks. It is noteworthy that using DSR method in paddy sowing helps in a great way to save water. Besides these eight blocks, Chief Minister appealed to all the farmers of the State to adopt crop diversification to prevent the depletion of groundwater level in the state.