Haryana Budget Session: Rs 2,000 credited in accounts of over 10 lakh farmers, Governor Arya informs Vidhan Sabha

Haryana is well on way to achieving the distinction of becoming the first state in the country to disburse first quarterly installment of Rs 2,000 to each of over 10 lakh small and marginal farmers under the newly launched Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PMKSNY), Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya informed the Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday.

Delivering his address on the opening day of 5th Budget Session of the State Assembly here, Arya outlined a slew of measures taken and schemes launched by the state government to reach out to the farmers with all kinds of help and improve their economic lot, and said his government was earnestly pursuing the vision of 'Doubling Farmers' Income' as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Listing the steps taken, Arya said last year Haryana became the first state in the country to set up a dedicated authority for the welfare of farmers, namely, Kisan Kalyan Pradhikaran, to have electronically paid into the bank accounts of millet farmers Rs 1,950 per quintal of their produce sold in the grain markets, and to have set the highest price of sugarcane at Rs 340 per quintal.

"A record procurement of 2.70 lakh tonnes of mustard and 1.80 lakh tonnes of 'bajra' was made this year. In order to ensure that every farmer recovers at least his cost of cultivation in the eventuality of unchecked fall in market prices, the state government has initiated Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana (BBY) for four horticulture crops. Under the scheme, 21,573 farmers have been registered under BBY so far, and Rs 2.58 crore has been disbursed as price differential," he said.

"For the construction and operationalisation of the international wholesale market, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been set up at Ganaur. Wholesale markets for spices at Sirsa and Kundli, and for flowers at Gurugram, are to be set up in the coming year. Haryana leads in the implementation of the e-NAM system in 54-grain markets, which has enabled the farmers to get a better price for their produce," he said.

Arya said in the interest of environmental protection, the government launched an extensive campaign during Kharif 2018 for management of crop residue with the introduction of new agricultural practices and machinery. In all, 1,194 Custom Hiring Centres were established with 80 per cent subsidy. As many as 3,666 individual farmers were given machinery at 50 per cent subsidy with a budget of Rs 17.83 crore.

The state government has also set up a new integrated centre of excellence for integrated horticulture development at Hodal. During the current year, 45,020 MTs of godowns are being constructed by the Haryana Warehousing Corporation, and next year, 27,112 MTs of storage capacity will be added. The corporation is also undertaking construction of steel silos with the capacity of 6.0 lakh MTs in PPP mode.

Referring to milk production, the Governor said total milk production during the current year up to November 2018 had touched 68.48 lakh tonnes which represented an increase of 9.44 per cent. The per capita per day availability of milk is expected to be 1100 grams in the state against 375 grams of the national average.

"Our State is second highest in milk production in the country. The production of eggs is 40,408 lakh up to November 2018 whereas, for the corresponding period during the last year, it was 37,309 lakh, which is an increase of 8.30 per cent. The target for the current year of milk production is 108 lakh tonnes and for eggs is 59,765 lakh," he said.