Stating that in the last six years, recruitment of about 85,000 Government posts has been done on merit basis in the State, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that recruitment of more than one lakh Government posts will be done on merit basis in the next four years.

Addressing a news conference at Haryana Niwas here, Khattar said that in the last six years, several initiatives have been taken to bring transparency in the government machinery and radical changes in the system by using information technology. While all these efforts have certainly proved fruitful be it conducting recruitment on merit basis or implementing teacher transfer policy. These initiatives taken by Haryana to bring about reforms have been appreciated at national level.

The Chief Minister expressed confidence that the employees who are recruited on the basis of merit will surely meet the expectations of the public and will stay away from corrupt practices.

Responding to a question, Khattar said that to speed up the pace of development in rural areas, separate District Municipal Commissioners have also been appointed in Urban Local Bodies after appointing a separate Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zila Parishad. This is also helping to augment financial resources of these institutions.

He said earlier, Urban Local Bodies used to remain dependent on the fact that they would get a grant from the Central Finance Commission or the State Finance Commission for their budget. Now they are mobilizing their own resources. He said that public participation in the bodies will too be encouraged.

The Chief Minister said that there is a link between distilleries and liquor contractors who operate in different states. Although there is no distillery in Chandigarh, there are many bottling plants, from where liquor is supplied in other states, he added while responding to a question regarding the liquor scam.

Khattar said that CCTV cameras have been installed in the distilleries of Haryana. Also, the joint patrolling teams of the Police and the Excise and Taxation Office monitors the supply of alcohol.

He informed that in the year 2014-15, Excise revenue was Rs 3,200 crore which has so far increased to Rs 6,400 crore in the year 2020-21 and it is estimated that it will be Rs 7,000 crore. The increase in revenue indicates that the State Government has certainly reformed the systems.

Responding to another question, the Chief Minister said that even after lockdown, revenue of Rs 338 crore has been received from GST, VAT and Mining, which was Rs 330 crore last year.

PROCUREMENT OF KHARIF CROP SMOOTH

The Chief Minister said that the State Government has made all necessary arrangements to ensure that the procurement process of Kharif crops is done in a smooth and systematic manner. For the first time, Government procurement of maize is being done at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Earlier, the purchase of millet was also done at MSP. So far, Rs 1,000 crore have been released by the Government as procurement payment for paddy and other crops, he said.

Khattar said every single grain of farmers’ crops will be procured. The interests of the farmers of Haryana are paramount for the State Government and for this, procurement of the crops brought by the farmers of the State is being done in the state mandis on priority. Farmers of other states will have to get their crops registered before bringing it to the state mandis of Haryana, whether it is through Arhtiyas or at their own level, said the Chief Minister.

He said the Punjab and Rajasthan Governments should also procure crops at MSP so that the farmers of these two states do not have to come to Haryana. Khattar said that arrangements have been made to make the payment of paddy procurement to the farmers within seven days. After the Form-I is generated and approved, payment is being made within three days.

Transport Minister  Mool Chand Sharma, Principal Secretary, Transport Department, Anurag Rastogi, and Director General,  Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, PC  Meena and other officers were also present on this occasion.