CM announces 10-hr power for agriculture; hike in pension for World War-II soldiers
CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday promised to provide 10-hour power supply to the agriculture sector from Wednesday and Rs 10,000 monthly pension to the Hindi ‘satyagrahis’ and those from Haryana who were jailed during the emergency.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the year-long Haryana Swarna Jayanti celebrations at Hisar’s Mahabir Stadium, where vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu was the chief guest, Khattar also announced enhanced monthly financial assistance to soldiers from Haryana who took part in the Second World War, and their widows, from Rs 4,500 to Rs 10,000.
“From tomorrow (Wednesday), the agriculture sector in the state would start getting 10-hour of electricity daily. Faridabad rural has become the fourth district in the state which is getting 24-hour electricity supply in the rural areas,” the chief minister said, while welcoming the vice-president.
Khattar said Haryana was a product of the language agitation and that the ‘satyagrahis’ for the mother tongue had been ignored.
Having honoured them and given the facility of travel concession in state-run buses on August 15, he said, the state government had now decided to give them lifetime monthly pension of Rs 10,000. “Now, it has also been decided to give them lifetime monthly pension of Rs 10,000, which would be given to their widows after their death,” he said.
Recalling the fact that M Venkaiah Naidu had himself been jailed during the emergency, Khattar said under a programme named ‘Shubrajyotsana’, the state government had identified people who had been jailed during that period and given them the facility of free medical treatment and free travel in state-run buses.
Highlighting the work his government has done during its three-year term in office, the CM said government jobs had been provided to 156 next of kin of martyrs from the state who had laid down their lives in postIndependence wars and while doing internal security by engaging terrorists.
These include 130 from the armed forces, 12 from BSF and 14 from the Central Reserve Security Force (CRPF).
“We have also given jobs to the next of kin of two martyrs of the 1971 war. Among those who got government jobs are 31 warwidows, 27 daughters, 89 sons, one daughter-in-law and eight brothers who were martyred,” the CM added
Speaking on the occasion, Haryana governor Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki, said during the Swarna Jayanti Year of the state, welfare works for each section of the society have been done. “This has laid a strong foundation for the development of Haryana,” he added.
He added it was a matter of pride for him to be the governor of Haryana during the Swarna Jayanti year and join in the celebrations of the state. Exhorting the people to follow the mantra of “Haryana Ek Haryanvi Ek” (One Haryana, one Haryanvi), he asked them to contribute to making state more prosperous.