Babus to be deputed as nodal officers to take forward Hry Leeds Gateway

The Manohar Lal Khattar Government in Haryana will designate senior IAS as nodal officers to take forward the initiatives discussed during meetings held with various countries during the visit of state delegations.

In this regard, Haryana Government has appointed TL Satyaprakash, MD HSIIDC as the nodal officer for taking forward the Haryana Leeds Gateway initiative for all intents and purposes. Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh is appointed as nodal officer to coordinate with Israel. 

“The government will be chalking out a plan to depute senior bureaucrats as nodal officers to coordinate and take forward the initiatives discussed with various countries during our foreign visits,” said the Chief Minister Manohar Lal while talking to the mediapersons here on Wednesday, a day after returning from his nine-day foreign tour to Israel and United Kingdom.

He said that the government has decided that in order to take various initiatives forward, the two sides (Haryana and concerned countries) would be in touch with each other through video conferencing on monthly basis. Two senior officers have been appointed in this regard and more officers would also be appointed to coordinate with other countries, said the Chief Minister.

Manohar Lal had in the past undertaken foreign tours to the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai Targeted by the opposition for wasting public money on foreign tours, the Chief Minister claimed that his recent foreign visit was successful as ten Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed with United Kingdom (UK) for various projects and  initiatives.

The MoUs would not only catalyze investment worth Rs 1500 crore to the state but also provide direct employment to about 1000 persons, said the Chief Minister while adding that the foreign tour was aimed at bringing foreign investments to Haryana and not for sightseeing.

Asked about the quantum of investment the state is expecting from foreign investors from his overseas visit since 2015, the Chief Minister said that 21 MoUs had been signed during his earlier visits to the USA, Canada, Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai, and investment worth Rs 1.26 lakh crore is in the pipeline. “Projects of 14 companies involving investment of Rs 5,134 crore are in progress. These would provide employment opportunities to about 8,000 people,” he said.

When asked about the status of collaboration with China’s Wanda Group in 2016 regarding the setting up of a Green Field Integrated Industrial Township in Sonepat district, he said the process will be started again for the implementation of the project.

Manohar Lal, who assumed power in October 2014, went for his first tour abroad to the US and Canada in August 2015 and in January 2016, he went to Japan and China to attract investments for the state. Last year, the Chief Minister had led a high level delegation to Singapore and Hong Kong in a bid to attract investments for Haryana. Later, he had also visited Dubai.

Elaborating about his recent Israel and United Kindgom visit, Manohar Lal said that the state delegation led by him held a meeting with Transport for London (TfL) which provided a broader perspective for implementation of a successful city transport system for a growing city like Gurugram.

A team from Haryana led by the Transport Minister or Transport Secretary would be tasked to visit UK to understand the principles and seek collaboration with TfL for developing a comprehensive Transport System for Gurugram, Faridabad and other urban areas in Haryana, said he.

The Chief Minister said that the government has also mooted a proposal with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre  (AMRC) for setting up an Advanced Manufacturing Park in Haryana with a parallel AMRC which could provide the necessary eco-system enabling the Companies like Boeing, Rolls Royce and Mclaren to set up their plants.

CM to hold discussion with Brahmin community to pacify them over HSSC question row

On the controversy over the question asked by the HSSC in the junior engineer (JE) recruitment exam, the Chief Minister said that he will meet the delegations from Brahmin community to resolve the issue.

Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) has not only debarred the examiner who set the question paper from all future assignments, but also withdrawn the question, said he.

The question was not appropriate and he would talk to representatives of the Brahmin community on Thursday on this issue, he added.

The Chief Minister further said he had himself talked to chairman of the Commission on this issue.

Agitated over the multiple choice objective question which allegedly insulted the “Brahmins”, various Brahmin organizations had on Monday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh urging strict action against those responsible for faux pas in the HSSC exam.

On the issue, Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu has written to the HSSC chairperson seeking an inquiry and strict action against erring persons.

 The question paper given to the applicants on April 10 for recruitment as junior engineer had a question about ‘sign of a bad omen prevalent in Haryana’. The options had included: seeing an empty pitcher, a casket full of fuel, meeting with a black Brahmin or sight of a Brahmin girl.

The question stirred a controversy with various Brahmin organizations and opposition parties, launching a fierce attack against the BJP led Haryana Government and seeking sacking of HSSC chairperson besides an FIR against those responsible for putting up such a question.

Reports of change in name of Kalpana Chawla medical college false

The Chief Minister denied reports that the Kalpana Chawla Medical College in Karnal is being renamed to honour Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and clarified that another university in the town was being named after the late Jana Sangh leader.

“No, it is wrong,” Khattar said when asked if the college, named after Indian-American astronaut late Kalpana Chawla in her hometown Karnal, was being renamed.

A new medical science university, set up in Karnal, will be named after Upadhyaya, he added.

The Kalpana Chawla Medical College, with 100 MBBS seats and a 500-bed hospital, was inaugurated in March this year by Union Health Minister J P Nadda, along with Manohar Lal.

Will explore the issue of flow of Ravi waters into Pakistan

On the issue of the letter written to the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt. Amrinder Singh, on the need to stop wasteful flow of Ravi waters into Pakistan, the Chief Minister said this issue is common to both states.

“I have come to know that Capt. Amrinder Singh has got a study conducted which found the construction of dams is not feasible. In the wake of these circumstances, the Haryana Government would now decide its future course of action after exploring all options. Let me make it clear that Haryana has no conflict with Punjab,” said he while reacting to the reply sent to Haryana Government by Punjab CM.

As the issue is of common interest, Punjab should take lead in this matter, he added.

Haryana CM, in his letter on May 7 had asked Punjab to stop Ravi water from flowing into Pakistan and to provide the same to Haryana. He had also suggested that both the states should discuss the issue together.

Reacting to the letter, Captain Amarinder Singh in a reply to Manohar Lal, had not only expressed inability to stop Ravi water from flowing into Pakistan, but had also advised his counterpart to stop wastage of Yamuna water.