Haryana to have its own forest research institute, says Khattar
YAMUNANAGAR: Addressing the Haryana Pragati rally at Jagadhri’s new grain market on Sunday, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced setting up of the state’s first forest research institute at the cost of Rs 50 crore to promote plywood industries, mostly based in Yamunanagar.
Yamunanagar-Jagadhri twin towns are a hub of plywood and related industries supplying products worldwide. Currently, most of the forest-related research in the region is undertaken by the Forest Research Institute Deemed University, Dehradun.
At the venue, the chief minister also laid the foundation stone and inaugurated nearly eight projects worth Rs 334 crore. Counting major announcements for four constituencies – Yamunanagar, Jagadhri, Radaur and Sadhaura – Khattar sanctioned Rs 680 crore.
“Most industries of Haryana are based in the national capital region (NCR) of Gurugram, Faridabad, Rewari, Sonepat, etc. Now, we are planning to develop industries around Chandigarh at Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Ambala and Kurukshetra, under which we will develop industrial clusters spread over 50 to 100 acre. To provide employment, we will establish such clusters in all five blocks of Yamunanagar,” Khattar added.
Khattar, an MLA from Karnal, told the gathering that his government has undertaken projects worth Rs 1,087 crore in the last three years in Yamunanagar.
A day after the Union government banned wheat exports, he also announced the reopening of grain markets in Haryana for wheat procurement, starting from Monday, for 10 days.
The CM said, “Wheat yield was lesser this season. In public interest, the government has banned selling wheat abroad and now, we are allowing purchase in the grain markets for the next 10 days.”
CM’s faux pas
During his public address, the chief minister said the Karnal Yamunanagar rail line project has been approved, for which, a survey is underway and will soon benefit people.
But the CM had spoken mistakenly, as the project was declared unviable in March.
The project, worth Rs 883 crore, was approved in July last year, however, it was declared “financially unviable and not operationally justified” by the ministry of railways in March, when BJP MP from Karnal constituency, Sanjay Bhatia had sought a reply on the status of work from Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha. “Survey of the Karnal-Yamunanagar new line was carried out in 2015-16, but after the survey, the project was found to be financially unviable and it could not be taken forward. Thereafter, this project was taken up for development by the Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC), a joint venture company of the Haryana government and the Union ministry of railways,” the minister had said.
“A DPR was submitted for seeking in-principle approval (IPA) for pre-investment activity from the railways. IPA was not granted as the project was not operationally justified and was financially unviable,” the minister had said in response to the unstarred question on March 16.