CHANDIGARH: With an eye on the ensuing Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls later this year, the BJP government in Haryana has rolled out a new scheme providing financial and social security cover to families of farmers and workers in the unorganized sector.
Presenting the fifth budget of the government led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, state Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu announced the scheme, as part of which financial and social security cover will be provided to families of farmers holding land up to 5 acres.
Families of workers in the unorganized sector, with an income of less than Rs 15,000 per month, will also be covered under the scheme. The state will allot Rs 1,500 crore for the scheme. The farmers will also benefit from the additional allotment of funds under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, a direct cash transfer scheme for farmers which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Prayagraj on Sunday.
In his budget speech, the finance minister proposed no new taxes saying the government has not only stressed on giving an impetus to economic growth but has also sought to add more muscle to the state’s economy.
He said his government has also sought to transform the state’s rural economy, which is mostly centered on agriculture, by focusing on horticulture, animal husbandry, and fisheries, apart from mainstream farming activities, in the coming years.
He said the emphasis would be on making these sectors “holistic, integrated, progressive and futuristic”.