Haryana

• 30 Oct 2023

Chief Minister launched 'Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme'

Why In News?

On October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal formally inaugurated the pension scheme for 3,810 trees under the 'Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme'. Under the scheme, all these trees will be given a pension of Rs 2750 annually.

Key Points:

• The Chief Minister launched the Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme during a press conference organized to commemorate the completion of 9 years of the state government.
• It is noteworthy that Haryana is the first state in the country to implement such a scheme, the objective of which is to conserve healthy trees older than 75 years.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that if there is a tree of 75 years or more in the courtyard of someone's house, then he can apply for pension by going to the forest department office of his respective district. The application will be evaluated by a committee and pension will be given to the beneficiary after verification of all the conditions.
• Under this scheme, 3,810 eligible trees of 75 years of age or more were identified by the district level conservation committees in the state. The annual pension amount of these Prana Vayu Devta Pension trees is Rs 2750. This amount will be deposited in the account of the tree protector for the maintenance and care of the tree. There will also be an annual increase in this pension amount in line with the old age respect allowance.
• The selected Prana Vayu Devta trees include about 40 species, of which Peepal, Banyan, Neem, Mango, Jaal, Gular, Krishna Kadamba, Pilkhan etc. are prominent. All these trees are Indian and have immense ecological importance.
• These old trees stand on various lands, such as private, panchayat, institutional and government properties. Trees standing on forest land are not included in this scheme.

Amendment in ' Deployment of Contract Personnel

Why In News?

On October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal issued a notification regarding important amendments made by the Haryana Government in the 'Deployment of Contract Personnel Policy, 2022'. These amendments in the selection criteria are aimed at making the recruitment process more inclusive and efficient.

Key Points:

• The notification said that the merit list of the candidates will now be prepared on the basis of scoring parameters like annual family income, age and socio-economic criteria of the candidate, skill qualification, common eligibility test, prior state experience etc.
• Maximum 40 marks will be based on the annual family income of the candidate as verified by Haryana Family Identification Authority, which includes 40 marks up to Rs 1,00,000, 30 marks between Rs 1,00,001 to 1,80,000, 20 marks between Rs 1,80,001 to Rs 3,00,000. Points, there will be scoring of 10 points from Rs 3,00,001 to Rs 6,00,000.
• Based on the age of the candidate at the time of job recommendation  A benefit of 10 marks will be given in the age group of 24 to 36 years and 5 marks in the age group of 36 to 42 years.
• Candidates will get maximum of 5 marks if they have a skill certificate from NCVT, SCVT, SVSU University recognized ITI relevant to the job. If the qualification is higher than the basic qualification in the same field, additional 5 marks will be given, in which minimum 8th pass will be mandatory.      
• Candidates will be given weightage of 10 marks based on socio-economic criteria, including 10 marks in case of orphan status,  5 marks are given in case of widow and 5 marks are also given for those candidates who do not have a father.
• Candidates who successfully qualify the Common Eligibility Test will receive 10 marks.
• Candidates who are residents of the same Block Municipal Corporation will get 10 marks and 5 marks will be given to those who are residents of adjacent Block, Municipal Corporation for which the job is notified, each Municipal Corporation will be treated as a separate block and Municipalities, Municipal councils will be considered part of the block.
• Additional 10 marks will be given to candidates having prior experience of working in any Department, Board, University, Public Sector Undertaking, Mission or Authority under the control of Haryana Government. Candidates will get 1 mark for each year of experience.
• The purpose of these amendments is to create a more comprehensive and fair selection process for contracts in Haryana. These changes are effective immediately and will be implemented for all future recruitments under this policy.
• Haryana Government offices in Chandigarh will be treated at par with District Panchkula. Haryana Government offices in New Delhi will be treated at par with districts Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar.
• The Board of Directors of Haryana Skill Employment Corporation Limited (HKRN) has been authorized to make changes in the scoring criteria in Clause 8.8 of the Contract Persons Deployment Policy, 2023.
• Under the revised policy, contract workers will be entitled to various types of leave, including casual and medical leave. Specifically, these employees will be entitled to avail one day of casual leave and one day of medical leave during each calendar month on a proportionate basis.
• This entitlement is valid up to a maximum of 10 days of casual leave and 10 days of medical leave during a calendar year. Additionally, women contract workers are eligible for maternity leave as per the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
• There is age relaxation up to 42 years for contract employees and 5 years relaxation in upper age limit for reserved category candidates. Candidates with prior experience in Haryana Government organizations can avail age relaxation up to a maximum of 5 years.

Chief Minister Announced C losure of Six Toll Plazas in the State

Why In News?

Taking an important decision, on October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced the closure of six toll plazas located on the state highways. Due to closure of these toll plazas, the public will save Rs 13.50 crore annually.

Key Points:

• Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, The Chief Minister said that three toll plazas - Village Bashirpur (Narnaul-Nizampur Road) near Rajasthan Border on State Highway-17, Village Tatiana (Kaithal-Patiala Road) near Punjab Border on State Highway-11, Village Gujjarwas (Subana-Kosli-Nahar-Kanina Road) on State Highway-22 will be closed from November 1, 2023.
• Similarly, the toll plaza on Punjab Border State Highway-8 near village Sangatpura on Kaithal-Khanauri road will be closed on November 10. The toll plaza located on Himachal Pradesh Border State Highway-4 near village Ashgarpur on Kala Amb-Sadhara-Shahabad road and Delhi Border State Highway-18 near village Ferozepur on Rohtak-Kharkhoda-Delhi road border will be closed on December 1, 2023.
• The chief minister said the decision to close these toll plazas was taken in view of the demands of the people living in the surrounding areas. The government has recognized the financial burden and inconvenience caused to the public by these toll plazas and has taken this step to provide relief to the public.

Chief Minister Announced Regularization of 190 Colonies in 10 Districts

Why In News?

On October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal made a big announcement to regularize 190 colonies of 10 districts, moving towards institutional urban development in Haryana.

Key Points:

• The purpose of this decision of Chief Minister Manohar Lal is to give legal status to these colonies and ensure comprehensive infrastructure development.
• Addressing the press conference, the Chief Minister said that the state government will allocate approximately Rs 1400 crore for the overall development of these colonies.
• He said that out of 190 colonies being regularized, 100 colonies come under the jurisdiction of the Town and Country Planning Department, while the remaining 90 are under the purview of urban local bodies.
• With the announcement of regularization of these colonies, a total of 594 colonies have been successfully regularized this year.
• He said that the development works within the colonies managed by the Town and Country Planning Department will be supervised by the Haryana Urban Development Authority.
• Manohar Lal said that a total of 1673 colonies have been successfully regularized since 2014, whereas only 874 colonies were regularized during the tenure of the previous government.