Haryana Budget 2021: Amid Farmer Protests and Covid-19, Haryana's Budget Focuses on Farming and Healthcare

In the midst of farmer unrest and the Covid-19 disease outbreak, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced a Rs 1,55,645 crore state budget on Friday, focusing on farming and healthcare.

Khattar said his government was "emotionally attached to its farmers, whose hardship and dedication has made Haryana the food basket of the nation" in the Legislative Assembly. He suggested a state-wide economic revival in the form of a V.

Khattar claimed that his government was devoted to multiplying the income of farmers and guaranteeing their well-being. He launched a slew of initiatives aimed at improving soil quality and crop selection, crop residue conservation, mixed cropping, zero-budget cultivation, organic and sustainable farming, and acquisition.

He further announced the Mukhyamantri Antyodya Parivar Utthan Abhiyan, which would benefit Haryana's weakest 1 lakh households. This unified scheme, which includes all of the government's welfare programs, would provide each family with a customized package of interventions, such as schooling, skill growth, wage jobs, self-employment, and job formation, to guarantee their socioeconomic empowerment and meet a minimum economic limit of Rupees 1.80 lakh per year.

According to Khattar, the system is based on the concept of Antyodya, or socioeconomic upliftment of the weakest.

Major Highlights of the Haryana Budget 2021:

- From April 1, the Old Age Samman allowance has been increased to Rs. 2,500 a month. The allowances for the other system would also be expanded proportionally.

- Between 2021-22 and 2024-25, ten small fish feed mill plant units will be built under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana Scheme (PMMSY).

- A new milk plant in southern Haryana is being proposed, with a packaging capacity of three lakh litres per day, expandable to five lakh litres per day, to serve the NCR area.

- Rupees 50 crore has been set aside to improve gaushalas.

- From 2021-22 to 2024-25, the government will establish an additional 1090 hectares of saline-affected land and 5000 hectares of freshwater land under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) Scheme, with the aim of doubling fish farmers' revenue.

- To improve diagnostic facilities in the state, the government will create three bio safety Level-II laboratories in Hisar, Sonepat, and Panchkula with rapid and RT-PCR diagnostics of Avian Influenza and other poultry diseases.

- The government will ensure that all 1020 government veterinarian hospitals are computerized and connected to the IT network by supplying all necessary facilities and a village-level fiber network.

- Various banks in the state are conducting a special push to offer ‘Pashudhan Kisan Credit Cards' to livestock farmers.

- The government has agreed to extend the ‘Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay Samuhik Pashudhan Beema Yojana' for livestock and to pursue livestock insurance.

- Haryana Agro Industries Corporation Ltd. will open 2000 retail stores or outlets throughout the state's 22 districts to provide a network for non-perishable packaged consumer goods, such as Vita products.

- Haryana is one of 18 states where e-NAM has been introduced in 81 APMCs. The remaining 32 Mandis will be linked to e-NAM in the immediate future. Grain dryers, silo storages, grading, loading/unloading, measuring, sewing, sorting, and packing are being designed in all of the State's main Mandis to increase the productivity of market yards in handling agricultural produce and minimize post-harvest losses. Closed-circuit television cameras are gradually being mounted in all Haryana warehouses.

- Additional storage space for agricultural produce will be built by the government. This year, we've planned to add over 6.60 lakh MT of storage space, according to Khattar.

- The government plans to develop the India International Horticulture Market (IHM) on a 545-acre plot of land in Ganaur, Sonepat district. The project's total expense is Rs. 2400 crore, with Rs. 1600 crore coming from NABARD's RIDF/NIDA program and the remaining Rs. 800 crore coming from the state government.

- The government plans to launch the Kisan Mitra Yojana, which will provide farmers with a variety of services such as cash withdrawal, cash deposit, balance inquiry, pin upgrade, new pin generation, mini declaration, cheque book submission, Aadhaar number update, loan request, mobile number update, and issue and feedback registration, among others. In collaboration with banks, the scheme aims to build 1000 farmer-owned ATMs.

- In Rabi season 2021, the government will procure approximately 81.00 LMT of wheat and 7 LMT of mustard, as well as approximately 60 LMT of paddy and 7 LMT of Bajra in 2021-22.

- As an opportunity for farmers to migrate from paddy to alternative crops, the government would include a subsidy of Rs. 7000 per acre. During 2021-22, the aim is to minimize paddy cultivation by 2 lakh acres.

- Agriculture with no budget and organic/natural farming would be promoted by the government. In the next three years, it is hoped that this project would occupy one lakh acres of cropped land.

- Starting Kharif 2020, the State Government has declared a revised Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), which will make the scheme optional for all farmers.

- For the maintenance of agricultural residues on site and at other sites, a detailed development plan has been established. In collaboration with the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, measures have been taken to develop 100 compressed bio-gas and bio-mass facilities for the use of crop residue.

- Beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Vivah Shagun Yojana will now take advantage of the scheme before or on the day of their wedding.