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Hooda Govt. firm on water share: Kidwai

Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Speaker Raghuvir Singh Kadiyan and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala arrives at the Assembly on the first day of the budget session in Chandigarh on Friday.

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Governor A. R. Kidwai on Friday asserted that the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress regime was committed to get Haryana’s “legitimate share in the river waters through the Sutlej-Yamuna-Link Canal”.

Delivering the customary Governor’s address on the opening day of the Budget Session of the Vidhan Sabha, Dr. Kidwai said several initiatives had been taken in the irrigation sector to optimally and equitably distribute the available water.

The project to link Bhakra Main Line with Hansi Branch and Butana Branch to provide water to deficit southern areas had been executed and the capacity of the Western Yamuna Canal was being increased. The Shahabad-Dadupur-Nalvi canal was being constructed to use the surplus Yamuna waters for irrigation and ground water recharge. And to meet the drinking water needs of the National Capital Region falling in Haryana, a 500-cusec channel was under construction.

He disclosed that Haryana’s Rs.6,650-crore Plan outlay for the financial year 2008-09 would include a Rs.1,433-crore Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) for socio-economic uplift of Scheduled Castes. Moreover, new schemes would be initiated this year directly benefiting the Scheduled Castes.

The Government has also proposed a new scheme of financial assistance to non-school going disabled children from 2008-09 onward wherein children in the age group of six to 18 years will be provided financial assistance, he added.

Dr. Kidwai said a Veterinary University would be set up in Hisar to boost animal husbandry science and research and a world class terminal market would come up at Ganaur. The Government is also considering a proposal to set up a chain of “Agro Malls” and commodity hubs are being set up to provide post-harvest management support to vegetable and fruit growers.

Listing the pro-farmer steps taken by the State Government, he said that floor rates for awarding compensation in land acquisition cases had been further increased. Foodgrains production had touched an all-time high of over 147 lakh tonnes during 2006-07 and the Government had launched a campaign to reverse the trend of decline in wheat productivity.

The State had received foreign direct investment amounting to Rs.10,500 crore and sound economic fundamentals and excellent infrastructure had propelled Haryana into one of the most pro-business environments in the country, said the Governor. “Today Haryana has 1,330 large and medium units and about 80,000 small-scale units. And exports from Haryana during 2007-08 crossed Rs.30,000 crore. It is planned to develop economic hubs all along the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. Four new projects for setting up industrial model townships have been initiated at Faridabad, Rohtak, Jagadhari and Kharkhoda. The Governor asserted that the Government would continue to support public-private partnership mode in infrastructure projects as also provisioning of incentives for dispersal of industries in the backward areas of the State.

Dr. Kidwai said the Government was committed to ensuring adequate, sustainable and quality power supply to the consumers. Haryana has 4,368 MW of generation capacity and on an average 739 lakh units of electricity are being supplied to consumers daily. The demand for electricity is expected to almost double in the next five years and to satisfy this demand and meet the present deficit, the Government has taken many initiatives to enhance the generation capacity in the State as well as in the private sector.

Dr. Kidwai noted that Haryana’s economy during 2006-07 was estimated to have achieved an excellent growth of 11.4 per cent in its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and per capita income in real terms has been estimated at Rs.35,779 crore in 2006-07 as against Rs.32,724 crore in 2005-06. Tax rates had been suitably adjusted on the basis of economic needs and as a result revenue sectors had become buoyant.

The Governor congratulated the State Government for pursuing forward-looking and people-friendly policies and said there was all-round prosperity. Development had moved far beyond economic growth with its clear focus on social goals: an improved quality of life, enhanced opportunities for better education and health, and welfare of weaker sections and marginalised groups.

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