In a major relief measure for rural residents, the Haryana Government has announced that families residing in houses built on village shamlat land for the past 20 years will now be eligible to apply for ownership rights under the prescribed rules until January 16, 2027.
Such families will be required to deposit an amount equivalent to one-and-a-half times the land value calculated on the basis of the Collector Rate prevailing in 2004.
This was announced by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini while addressing the state-level Sashakt Panchayat Samaroh held at the Indradhanush Auditorium in Panchkula.
He said many eligible beneficiaries were unable to submit their applications due to documentation-related difficulties, and therefore the government had provided relief by extending the application period.
The Chief Minister also announced that, to strengthen waste management systems in rural areas, the government would provide tractor-trolleys, drivers and waste collection workers in every village.
During the event, he inaugurated LED street lighting installed along the phirnis (peripheral roads) of 179 villages across 17 districts at a cost of Rs 23.21 crore. He also dedicated 350 e-Atal Libraries constructed in 17 districts at a cost of Rs 44 crore.
The Chief Minister directly transferred Rs 1,056.75 crore to the accounts of Panchayati Raj Institutions for developmental works. On the occasion, he also honoured six Gram Panchayats under the Jagrit Gram Awards for setting new benchmarks in development, sanitation and good governance, and awarded them a total prize amount of Rs 1.66 crore.
Among the awardees, Gram Panchayat Jandli Kalan in Fatehabad district received Rs 51 lakh, Gram Panchayat Jhinjhar in Charkhi Dadri received Rs 31 lakh, and Gram Panchayat Saha in Ambala received Rs 21 lakh. Under the second category, Gram Panchayat Jallopur in Fatehabad district received Rs 31 lakh, Gram Panchayat Gadli received Rs 21 lakh, and Gram Panchayat Mardanheri in Karnal district received Rs 11 lakh.
He said Haryana was continuously taking historic steps to make villages active partners in development and, as part of this commitment, more than Rs 2,697 crore had been released under various schemes.
The Chief Minister also released the book “Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra”, highlighting the cultural and religious significance of Kurukshetra.
During the programme, the Chief Minister digitally released monthly Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) instalments under various welfare schemes.
Under the Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana, Rs 207.75 crore was released as the eighth instalment for mothers and women beneficiaries.
Similarly, Rs 19.75 crore was disbursed under the Har Ghar-Har Grihini Yojana. A sum of Rs 1,151.51 crore was directly transferred to beneficiaries under social security pension schemes.
Scholarships amounting to Rs 23.17 crore were provided to students belonging to OBC and DNT categories.
Under the Dayalu Scheme, financial assistance of Rs 169.50 crore was released.
The Chief Minister further said that, to strengthen Panchayat finances, a share of stamp duty revenue and two per cent of electricity consumption charges were being directly credited to Panchayat accounts.
The Chief Minister said that the government was pursuing a zero-tolerance campaign against drug abuse and narcotics trafficking. He appealed to Sarpanches to pledge to make their villages drug-free and cooperate with the administration in taking action against drug traffickers.
