Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday inaugurated as many as 71 Har-Hith stores across the State and announced that the State Government aims to open 5,000 more such stores.

“550 products of 60 companies manufacturing domestic products have been made available at these stores,” the Chief Minister said after inaugurating a Har-Hith store in Farrukhnagar town in Gurugram district. He also became the first customer of that store as he bought the goods from there.

Khattar said the State Government has set a target of providing employment to a member of every family of the State by the year 2025 and to achieve this goal no stone would be left unturned for creating new dimensions of self-employment.

He said Har-Hith stores have been inaugurated simultaneously at 71 places in the State. While on the one hand youth are getting employment opportunities from these stores, on the other people will get pure, certified and quality goods at affordable rates near their homes, he said.

The Chief Minister said that such a store would be opened in an area having a population of 3,000 in rural areas and 10,000 in urban areas.  People will get direct and indirect benefits from these stores.  Apart from MSMEs, small industrial units and cooperative sector units, quality products prepared by the Self Help Group of women will be made available at these stores at a price lower than that in the market, he added.

Khattar added all the goods will be sold through computerised system. The local markets in rural areas are almost closed and now people have to go to the city to get the daily need items. With the opening of these stores, people will get good quality goods in the village itself.

He said after this, Vita booths would also be opened across Haryana.

The CM also informed that the account of every family has been prepared through Parivar Pehchan Patra. On the same basis, schemes have been started for the families by identifying them.

He also said having a means of employment gives satisfaction to a person and his energy is channelised n the right direction. To make the youth of the state skilled, the government has opened the country’s first skill development university in Dudhola village of Palwal district in Haryana, he said.

Khattar also said the land under cultivation has become small and apart from doing animal husbandry, fisheries etc. farmers should adopt diversification of crops and should grow mushrooms or vegetables etc. instead of traditional crops, to increase their income.

The standards of below poverty line (BPL) families have been changed. Now any family, whose annual income from all sources is up to Rs 1.80 lakh, will also come under the purview of BPL, whereas earlier the income limit was Rs 1.20 lakh per annum, he added.