Haryana chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
New Delhi/ Jalandhar, February 18, 2013: Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said that although some people talked about development in Gujarat, but in fact Haryana is ahead of Gujarat in 50 areas of development and Haryana is the second largest contributor of foodgrains to the Central pool.
The Chief Minister was speaking at Ch. Ranbir Singh Memorial All India Inter University Debate Competition on “Empowerment of Women is still a myth” in University of Delhi, Delhi today.
Hooda said that today, Gujarat is at number six in per capita income whereas Haryana is ahead of big States. He said that when he assumed office of Chief Minister in 2005, Haryana was at number 14 in per capita investment in industrial sector, but now it is at number one.
Hooda said that Haryana is at number one in productivity of wheat and mustard and availability of milk is 708 grams per capita per day whereas in Gujarat it is 435 grams. The Plan Budget of Haryana is Rs 10,446 per capita whereas in case of Gujarat, it is Rs 8380. Haryana Government has initiated a number of schemes in social sector. He said that the State Government was giving scholarships ranging from Rs 75 to Rs 400 to the poor children studying in classes I to XII. This has benefitted 19.70 lakh children and the percentage of drop-outs has reduced from 40 to 5. In Gujarat, the students belonging to Scheduled Castes studying in Classes VI to VIII get Rs 125 in a year and those of VIII to XII are paid Rs 200 each. In Haryana, over 12.86 lakh aged men and women are given old age allowance of Rs 500 to Rs 700 per month whereas in Gujarat, it is merely Rs 400 per month and benefitting 7.21 lakh beneficiaries.
He said that in Haryana, the widow pension of Rs 750 per month is being given whereas in case of Gujarat, it is Rs 400 per month. In Haryana, the number of beneficiaries is more than 5.37 lakh whereas in Gujarat, it is merely 85,179. The Haryana Government also gives monthly pension of Rs 20,000 to freedom fighters whereas in the land of Gandhi, it is merely Rs 6000.
He said that Haryana is emerging as an educational hub. A Women Medical College has been set up at Khanpur Kalan in district Sonepat and another medical college named after Astronaut Kalpana Chawla is being set up in Karnal. A Central University is being set up in Mahendragarh and a Law University as well as Extension Centre of IIT Delhi are being set up at Rajiv Gandhi Education City. He said that Haryana has also made a mark in sports and is ahead of other States. Out of the 38 medals won by the country in Commonwealth Games, 22 were won by sportspersons of Haryana. He said that as a result of its achievement in agriculture sector, Haryana has won ‘Krishi Karman Puraskar’ for the second consecutive year.
While referring to the debate competition organized on the occasion, the Chief Minister stressed the need to change the mindset of the people for empowerment of women. He said that the youth could usher in a revolution in this direction by channelising its energies in creative pursuits. Such occasions help in changing the mindset. The nation demands the youth to have creative thinking and set priorities that nation is first and other things are thereafter. He suggested that the revolution brought by social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and messaging in the communication technology, should be utilised to achieve this goal.
He described the menace of female foeticide as a slur on society and said that we all were to blame for it. He said that daughter should not be considered as a burden. He said that the women could play a vital role in this direction. The women are equal partner with men and it is well defined in our Constitution. In our culture, the women are kept in high esteem than men. He quoted the example saying that Sita is referred before Lord Rama and similar is the case of Radha and Krishna. He also pointed out that the instances of atrocities against women are painful and expressed his concern for the same, but added that when we behave ourselves, we behave indifferently.
The Chief Minister said that the State Government has implemented a number of schemes for welfare of women. These included Ladli scheme under which Rs 5,000 are paid every year for five years on the birth of second daughter and on attaining the age of 18 years, she gets Rs one lakh. More than 1.21 lakh families have so far been benefitted under this scheme. While those above 60 years get pension, but if the family has daughters, the old age allowance is given from the age of 45 years. Women have also been given concession in payment of power tariff and stamp duty on transfer of property.
The President of Delhi University Students Union Arun Hooda presented a memento to the Chief Minister.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister B.S. Hooda announced financial assistance of Rs.21 lakh for the construction of the Coffee House in the Law Faculty.