Chandigarh, Mar 21 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar on Monday said that the new pension scheme was implemented when Congress led government was in power.
Khattar was replying to Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s demand for restoration of the old pension scheme for the government employees.
Hooda, the Leader of Opposition in Haryana, said that if the Congress governments of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh could implement the scheme, why the Haryana government was not accepting it.
Khattar told him there was no move to restore the old pension scheme.
He replaying to a discussion on Budget Estimates 2022-23 in the Vidhan Sabha.
The Chief Minister said that the circular to implement the new pension scheme was issued on January 22, 2007, when Hooda was the Chief Minister.
He informed the house that under the new pension scheme, some share was deposited by the employee and some by the government, which forms a corpus fund from which pension is paid.
Khattar said that the Indian government increased its share from 10 per cent to 14 per cent under the New Pension Scheme, following which Haryana also increased its share from 10 per cent to 14 per cent with effect from January 2022. The share of employees remains 10 per cent.
The new pension scheme will continue, he asserted.
The old pension scheme for government employees was discontinued in the country with effect from April 1, 2004, and was replaced by the National Pension Scheme (NPS).
Khattar, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the 2022-23 Budget aims to uplift every needy person.
“This budget is one which will take the state forward. You may criticise, but what is in people’s interest, we will do that,” Khattar said amid chants of dissensions from the opposition bench.
Sharp comments were exchanged between the opposition and treasury benches when Congress member Geeta Bhukkal said that not a word has been said about Scheduled Caste and BC component in the budget, a charge Khattar dismissed.
He said that the tender for the purchase of 5 lakh tablets for the government school students was allotted on November 23, 2021.
He had earlier announced that tablets with internet connectivity will be given to all students of class 10 to 12 studying in government schools from the coming academic session.
Khattar said that a separate cadre has been created for teachers in Mewat region, and the government has ramped up recruitment to fill up teacher vacancies in the region.
He informed the house that a demand letter for filling up the posts has been sent to the Haryana Staff Selection Commission.
Khattar said that in the last two years due to COVID-19, the pace of development was slowed down, but government made every effort to keep up the pace.
Khattar said the debt should not exceed 25 per cent of the GSDP.
“Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic, the State’s ratio is 24.98 per cent. Whereas in neighbouring Punjab the same is 48 per cent,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the revenue deficit of Haryana is also less than 3 per cent.
“If we are doing capital expenditure by taking loans and promoting infrastructure, then it is a good thing because infrastructure is considered an investment.
“In this Budget, we have made a provision of capital expenditure of Rs 61,057.36 crore,” he said.
Under Parivar Pehchan Patra (Family Id scheme), families with annual income of less than Rs 1.80 lakh have been identified. Of these 29 per cent belong to the Scheduled Castes and 35 per cent to the Backward Classes, he said.
The government had earlier increased the BPL income bar from Rs 1.20 lakh to Rs 1.80 lakh so that more and more families can come under the scheme’s purview, he said.
A survey of people who don’t own a home and whose income is less than Rs 1.80 lakh per annum is being started, he said.
He said that the state government is also bringing new schemes in the field of irrigation.
The Chief Minister said that at present the demand for organic products is increasing which are attracting very high prices too. Therefore a new programme on natural farming has been proposed in this budget, he said.
He said that under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, an amount of Rs 1,500 crore was paid by the farmers as premium, while they received claims amounting to Rs 4,729 crore. PTI SUN VSD VN VN
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Source: The Print
