Dhankar: State offering highest-ever compensation, incentives to farmers

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 22

Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister OP Dhankar said the state government was implementing the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission in a step-wise manner and was offering the highest-ever compensation and incentives to the farmers.

The minister was replying to a question about farmers’ agitation during a press conference here today. He announced that Haryana had become the fourth state after Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Kerala, all the rural areas of which had been declared open defecation-free (ODF).

“All 6,205 panchayats are ODF and this has been possible because the community owned this programme. To sustain this is our next challenge and we will shortly roll out an ODF plus plan for liquid and solid waste management,” Dhankar said.

On the issue of farmers, the minister said the present state government was working in the interests of farmers and had disbursed Rs 2,500 crore as compensation in two and a half years of its tenure.

He said while the report of the Swaminathan Commission was submitted to the government in 2006, the previous state government, led by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, failed to implement the recommendations of the report, which was finally implemented by the present state government.

“In fact, Hooda had formed a committee which further delayed the implementation of the recommendations of this report,” he added.

Cong, INLD have no issues against govt: Ram Bilas 

Karnal: Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma on Thursday hit out at the Congress and the INLD saying that they have no issue against the three-year rule of the Union government and the two-and-a-half-year rule of the state government. “They do not have any issue to speak about against both governments,” said Sharma while interacting with mediapersons in Nigdhu village, where he was to attend a private programme. He admitted that the BJP had promised the implementation of the Swaminathan commission’s report and it had been making efforts in that direction. — TNS