On I-Day, Khattar announces slew of incentives

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today announced a slew of incentives for the people of the state, including the 'Ayushman Bharat-Haryana' health protection scheme and 24-hour power supply to 507 more villages.

Delivering his Independence Day address here, Khattar said dependents of security personnel killed in the line of duty would be given government jobs in 'Group B' category based on educational qualifications.

He added that the 'Rohnat Freedom Trust' would be set up to work towards uprooting malnutrition, diseases and unemployment from Rohnat village of Bhiwani district.

Speaking after unfurling the national flag, Khattar further announced that government employees would no longer be required to take 'No Objection Certifications' (NOCs) from their head of departments before applying for higher posts in other departments.

He said from October 2, every household in the state would have a gas cylinder, and from November 1, the social security pension, including old age allowance, widow pension and pension to physically challenged persons, would be increased from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000 per month.

The chief minister said that on a pilot basis, the "Ayushman Bharat- Haryana" health protection scheme was being implemented in 25 government hospitals, including one main government hospital each in 22 districts, the ESI Hospital in Faridabad, the PGIMS in Rohtak and the Kalpana Chawla Medical College in Karnal.

Under this scheme, 15.50 lakh eligible families would get free medical treatment facilities of up to Rs five lakh.

Any member of such families would get free treatment facility in any of these 25 hospitals from today, he added.

Referring to the 'Mahra Gaon Jagmag Gaon' scheme, he said that from today, 507 more villages in the state would get 24-hour electricity supply. These include villages of Hisar, Bhiwani, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Rewari, Palwal and Mahendergarh disricts.

With this, the number of villages getting 24-hour power supply goes up to 2887 from 2380. Khattar said all villages of Panchkula, Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts were already getting 24 hour power supply.

The chief minister said the present BJP government in the state was committed to the welfare of freedom fighters and their dependents, and ex-servicemen and serving soldiers.

Government jobs have so far been provided to the 221 dependents of martyrs in various government departments.

He said that till now, government jobs in Group C and D were provided. However, now the dependents of martyrs would also be given Group B jobs on the basis of their educational qualification.

The chief minister said that during his visit to Rohnat village in Bhiwani district on March 23, he had discussed about setting up of a 'Freedom Trust' to rid the people of various problems.

Today, on the occasion of Independence Day, the Rohnat Freedom Trust has been constituted and it will start working soon, he added.

Khattar said the BJP government in the state had succeeded in keeping a check on corruption and nepotism which prevailed during the previous regime.

While describing the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal as the lifeline of Haryana, the chief minister lamented that people with vested interests were trying to misguide citizens on the issue just to gain political mileage.

"..We are committed to get legitimate share of Ravi-Beas water," he asserted.