Haryana

• 10 May 2023

The Website of Haryana Airport Development Corporation Launched

Why in News?

On 8 May 2023, the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana launched the website of Haryana Airport Development Corporation.

Key Points:

• With the creation of the website of Haryana Airport Development Corporation, the civil aviation department in the state would be able to implement and speedy completion of airport development projects. With this, the work of monitoring and inspection of the development works of the Integrated Aviation Hub as well as all other airstrips in Hisar will be completed quickly.
• With the launch of this website, anyone from anywhere in the world can see the development work being done by the Haryana Government in the Civil Aviation Department in the state.
• On this occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said that the formation of the Haryana Airport Development Corporation in the state is important in the field of civil aviation and said that its formation will make it easier to purchase equipment & items for the operation of airports and will speed up the work. The technical feasibility report for the development of airports can be reviewed as and when required.
• Not only this, now preparation and publication of tender documents for aviation activities will be easier, and quality control of development works will be possible through appropriate agencies.
• The formation of the Haryana Airport Development Corporation will help in the repair, maintenance & upgradation of airport infrastructure and institutional capacity building of the civil aviation sector in the state.

Ordinance for Amendment in Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 and Haryana Municipal Act, 1973

Why in News?

On 9 May 2023, in the cabinet meeting chaired by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal, the ordinance to amend the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 and the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 was approved.

Key Points:

• These ordinances will be called the Haryana Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023.
• According to the amendment, seats will be reserved for backward class 'A' in each municipality and the number of reserved seats will be as much as possible.
• In case the ratio of backward class 'A' population to the total population of that municipality is 0.5 or more in the same proportion as the total number of seats in the municipality, it is rounded off to the next higher integer.
• Excluding the seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes, such seats shall be allotted by a draw of lots from a maximum of three times the number of seats proposed for the reservation to Backward Class 'A' having the highest percentage of the population of Backward Class 'A' and will be allotted on rotation in the subsequent elections also.
• In the Cabinet meeting held on 8 May, the Council of Ministers approved a proposal to accept the recommendations of the Haryana Backward Classes Commission for the provision of the proportion of reservation for Backward Class-A in contesting municipal elections.
• Since the State Legislative Assembly is not in session and the elections to the Urban Local Bodies are to be held at the earliest, therefore, according to the recommendations of the Haryana Backward Classes Commission, provision has been made in Section 6 & Section 11 of the Act, 1994 and Section 10 of the Act, 1973, there is a need to bring an ordinance for the provision of reservation for Backward Class-A in the elections of Municipal Corporations and Municipal Councils/Committees.

Approval for Amendment in Agri-Business & Food Processing Policy-2018

Why in News?

In the cabinet meeting chaired by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on 9 May 2023, approval was granted to the proposal for amendment in the Agri-Business & Food Processing Policy-2018 and incentive schemes under it.

Key Points:

• As per the revised proposal, 25 projects will be set up under the 'Backward and Forward Linkage Scheme' and 15 additional projects under the 'Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Scheme'.
• The policy budget will remain unchanged at Rs 433 crore. A budget of Rs 160 crore will be diverted to the above schemes from the plan for the creation, expansion and diversification of individual agri- and food processing units by 31 March 2024, or till the notification of the new agri-business & food processing policy, whichever is earlier.
• This amendment will be helpful in achieving the desired policy objectives and will be useful in creating a vast food processing ecosystem as well as increasing the income of farmers in the state.
• The Haryana Agri-business & Food Processing Policy was notified with a vision to create a prosperous rural economy by achieving accelerated growth in the agriculture sector, creating strong value chain linkages, laying emphasis on research and establishing state-of-the-art infrastructure.
• The objective of this policy was to make Haryana an obvious destination for investors in the food processing sector, promote value addition in agriculture & allied sectors such as dairy, horticulture, livestock, fisheries, poultry etc. and strengthen infrastructure by investing.
• In food processing clusters, thus developing a strong value chain, promoting farm gate processing of fresh food especially fruits, vegetables, milk and fish, promoting startups in the agri-business space and enabling farmers to enhance their income through new means and to carry out agri-marketing reforms.
• The objective of notifying this policy is to attract an investment of Rs 3,500 crore by the year 2023, create employment for 20,000 people in the entire value chain of the food processing sector and engage in perishables (fruits, vegetables), dairy, fisheries etc. to increase the level of processing by 10 per cent.