Assembly in session: Armed with figures, CM Saini asserts no DAP shortage in state
Lauding the BJP's third successive victory as historic, CM Nayab Singh Saini today said that they had inherited a system of nepotism, corruption, and favouritism in 2014, which they worked to rectify and operate with fairness for the entire state.
“I thank the state's 2.8 crore population for giving us a chance for the third time. It is a victory of our antyodya,” he said, replying to the Governor’s address in the House today.
Responding to the Opposition’s allegations, Saini declared that there was no shortage of DAP in the state. Armed with figures, he said last year, as of November 13, the state had consumed 1.62 lakh MT of DAP, while as of November 13 this year, consumption reached 1.77 lakh MT. It meant they provided 15,000 tonnes more DAP to farmers, he said.
Taking a jibe at former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, he said from 2005 to 2014, farmers stood in queues every year for fertilisers and even faced lathicharge. Though Hooda tried to contest the claims, Saini showed newspaper cuttings and joked that he would send the cuttings to the Opposition via courier.
He said the BJP government had conducted 185 raids, suspended 21 licences, and cancelled eight, while registering seven FIRs for allegedly creating DAP scarcity.
Attacking the Opposition for claiming a farmer’s death due to DAP shortage, he said the farmer, Ram Bhagat of Bhikhiwala village (Jind), had no land, though his father owned 3 kanals of arable land there, along with 125 sq yards of non-cultivable land.
“Ram Bhagat had not even registered on Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal. The village of Bhikhewala falls under the Danoda Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society (PACS), where from November 1 to 6, at least 1,200 bags of DAP were available daily. On the day Ram Bhagat committed suicide (November 6), 1,224 bags of DAP were available, and over 600 bags were sold. The FIR registered at Uklana police station on November 7 stated that Ram Bhagat had been mentally troubled for several days and no one was responsible for his death,” said Saini.
Claiming credit for a 45 per cent reduction in stubble burning from last year, he said even the Supreme Court had appreciated the state’s efforts. He accused the AAP government in Delhi of falsely holding Haryana responsible for pollution and turning a blind eye towards its own government in Punjab.
“We launched Mera Pani Meri Virasat scheme, reducing paddy cultivation by about 2 lakh acres. We provide Rs 500 per acre for transporting stubble bales to cow shelters. Biomass projects were established in Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Fatehabad, and Jind to address stubble burning. Stubble is also being used as biofuel, with PM Narendra Modi inaugurating a 2G ethanol plant at the Panipat Refinery on August 10, 2022, to promote its use,” he said.
He also compared crime figures during Hooda’s tenure with BJP rule and claimed that crime, in fact, had reduced now.
'Income limit for BPL was enhanced'
On the rise in BPL population in the state, the CM said until 2014, the UPA government had a rule that only up to 21% of a state's population could be classified as below the poverty line, based on an annual income cap of Rs 1.2 lakh. “This rule created a business of recommendations,” he said. The then CM Manohar Lal Khattar removed the 21% population cap and the income limit for BPL was enhanced to Rs 1.8 lakh.
Rs 2K per acre bonus for farmers
*The 700-bedded hospital in Gurugram to be named after Guru Nanak Dev
*Government promised Rs 2,000 per acre as bonus for farmers. On August 16, Rs 496.89 crore was given, and on November 15, Rs 300 crore more would be deposited in farmers’ accounts
