The Haryana Government has decided to impose a complete ban on the mining of major minerals in the Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts for 10 years and has initiated steps for preparation of a 30-year perspective mining plan, Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia said here on Friday.
In his address to the members of the Haryana Legislative Assembly on the first day of the Budget Session here, he said that this would ensure that the scarce natural resources were exploited in a judicious manner.
The State Minor Mineral Concession Rules would be completely reviewed, he added.
The State Government had identified three early bird projects including a Multimodal Logistics Hub, an Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre and a Mass Rapid Transport System from Gurgaon to Bawal as a part of the mega project of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor which was being developed along the alignment of the freight corridor running for about 1,480 kms. through six States.
The Government would re-visit the Industrial Policy of 2005 and announce a revised one by the end of April 2010 with focus on hassle-free approvals and clearances to the entrepreneurs in an efficient and transparent manner.
Mr. Pahadia further said that the State Government had launched the Jawahar Social Infrastructure Mission with a budget of Rs. 150 crore to create state-of-the-art schools, vocational education and training centres and state institutes for the differently -abled children who were mentally challenged and suffered from impaired vision, hearing and speech. Homes for senior citizens and children in need were also being set up.
Expressing satisfaction that peace had been maintained in the state and there was rule of law, he said that communal harmony was intact. Several initiatives had been taken to modernize the police force and to make it high-tech.
He added that a State-wide action plan was being prepared for disposal of bio-medical waste with the help of the Health Department and hospitals. Use of plastic carry bags not meeting the notified specifications had been banned and a complete ban on plastic articles had also been imposed in the historic town of Kurukshetra and other notified religious places as well as in wild life sanctuaries, national parks and public parks.
Keeping in view the ensuing Commonwealth Games, the Government was facilitating the availability of over 6,500 rooms in the National Capital Region.
He further said that the revenue receipts of the State had registered an increase of about 22 per cent from April 2009 to January 2010 over the corresponding period of the last financial year.
Haryana had also witnessed a partial reversal of the adverse effects of the crisis in the current financial year. The Gross State Domestic Product was expected to grow at 8.1 per cent in 2009-10, 0.2 percentage points higher than the 2008-09 growth rates. The state was on the path to recovery, he asserted as the Government was committed to continue the recovery measures with renewed optimism and vigour.
He added that the implementation of the Nuclear Power Plant project would begin during the 11th Plan itself as the pre-project activities to set up 1,400 MW in Phase-I had been initiated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.
While pointing out that the demand for electricity was growing rapidly in Haryana, he said that on an average, the Government was supplying 907 lakh units of electricity daily to the people. A large investment had been made in the last few years to add additional 5,000 MW generation capacity enabling the state to double the availability of power by 2011-12.
Mr. Pahadia also reiterated the commitment of the State Government to get its legitimate share in the river waters through the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.Efforts were being made to resolve the legal issues for operationalizing the Bhakra Main Line-Hansi Branch-Butana Multipurpose link channel which had been constructed for equitable distribution of water.
