Chandigarh, November 15: The Union Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman while chairing a high level meeting with Chief Ministers, State Finance Ministers, held through video conferencing here today lauded the revolutionary steps taken by Haryana under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal to reduce line losses of DISCOMs and further taking the State at a profitable position.
The Finance Minister said that Secretary, Central Power Department would be asked to study Haryana’s model to get a better understanding of the blueprint followed by Haryana. During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on creating an enabling ecosystem for increased pro-active facilitation for investments besides topics of energizing growth, reforms, augmenting investments and creating a reform-focused business climate.
Sh. Manohar Lal said that under the Structural Reforms in Power Sector, the State Government is making dedicated efforts to reduce the gross distribution and commercial deficit of DISCOMs under UDAY Yojana. During the last five years, the Gross Distribution and Commercial Deficit declined from 30.02 percent in 2015-16 to 16.22 percent in 2020-21. Further, during 2017-18, DISCOMs have achieved operating/net profit of Rs. 412 crore by achieving a financial turnaround two years ahead of the target year. This profit was Rs 291 crore in the year 2018-19 and Rs 331 crore in the year 2019-20, he informed.
The Chief Minister said that Haryana DISCOMS have signed MoU with Energy Efficient Services Limited to install 10 lakh smart meters in the next 3 years. As many as 2.15 lakh smart meters have been installed in the State by December 2020. Smart metering project by DISCOMS includes several citizen-centric features like prepaid facility, trust reading-based billing, missed call facility to view electricity bill online, making bill payment through post offices, consumer satisfaction rate for new connection and average time of delivery services, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister informed that due to efficient financial management during the crisis of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Haryana has been able to maintain the fiscal deficit at 2.90 percent of GSDP against the sanctioned limit of 5 percent for the year 2020-21. The state has also successfully controlled its debt liability, as the debt to GSDP ratio stood at 23.27 percent in 2020-21. Strategy for the revival of the economy adopted by the State Government to achieve a ‘V shape’ recovery and pave the way for the revival of the economy, on four-pillar strategy was adopted by the State Government, added Sh. Manohar Lal.
He said that Health, Agriculture and Infrastructural reforms especially Road and Rail connectivity have been identified as the key priority sectors for the recovery and revival of the state’s economy.
In order to strengthen the economy of Haryana through Reserve Fund capital investment the State Government has prepared a new strategy for large capital projects by creating Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) in the budget. Under this, a reserve fund of Rs 8,585 crore has been allocated as MTEF in Budget 2021-22, which is a significant change. MTEF will be used for the implementation of highly specialized projects focused on Health, Agriculture and Infrastructure. These special projects include expansion of medical infrastructures such as upgradation of district hospitals to 200 beds, the establishment of mother and child hospitals, etc., International Horticulture Market in Ganaur, Micro Irrigation Projects, Orbital Rail Corridor, High Speed Rail between Delhi and Karnal. Connectivity and expansion of the metro network in Gurugram and other areas informed Sh. Manohar Lal.
The State Government has laid special emphasis on achieving outcomes, to ensure that the public monies are allocated and spent in a productive, focused manner targeting specific outcomes, he added.
The Chief Minister said that rapid progress has been made in the successful implementation of the state government’s ambitious Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) scheme. This initiative will pave the way for paperless, faceless service delivery to citizens as well as will also play a pivotal role in improving the ease of living index of the families identified under PPP. The scheme aims to reach out to those at the bottom of the pyramid while upholding the spirit of Antyodaya.
The Chief Minister said that Sustainable Development Goal Economic Reform Bonds would be raised through eligible Central Public Sector Undertakings. The State Government has developed major schemes/projects in a pipeline with a significant investment of about Rs. 30,000 crore. Special Purpose Vehicle for implementing these projects are being installed. Haryana State Financial Services Limited (HSFSL), a state government undertaking, has been entrusted with the task of supporting the Haryana Sustainable Development Goals Economic Reform Fund and raising funds from the market for the purpose.
Sh. Manohar Lal said that Haryana Government has taken several steps to attract investors towards the business friendly ecosystem of the State. Haryana has been at the fore in implementing the reforms directed by the Government of India. The state has completed all 301 reforms mandated under the Business Reform Action Plan (2020-21), he said.
These improvement areas include land registration, approval of building plans, approval of local bodies, electricity and water (useful services) connections, contract enforcement, setting up of single window desks, strengthening investment facilitation helpdesk, area wise licenses and many other approvals. In addition, the state implemented all 45 reforms related to the District Reform Action Plan-2019, added Sh. Manohar Lal.
Besides this, with the objective of creating an investment-friendly environment in the state, a New Industrial Policy titled Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy – 2020 has been implemented. It aims to create 5 lakh jobs, attract investment of Rs 1 lakh crore, double the exports to Rs 2 lakh crore and amend several state laws (Acts, Rules and Guidelines) to make them investor friendly, informed the Chief Minister.
Sh. Manohar Lal said that in addition to Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy – 2020, sector specific policies have also been introduced to meet the specific needs of investors in Warehouse and Logistics, Agriculture and Food Processing, Textiles and Pharmaceuticals sectors. More than 150 industrial and business related services of more than 25 departments are being provided through Invest Haryana Single Window Portal. More than 3 lakh services are provided through this portal, he added.
The Chief Minister further informed that other major initiatives taken in the interest of investors in the State are related to land acquisition, approval of building plans and central inspection system. In addition, Haryana has passed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2021, which will speed up development projects by simplifying the land acquisition process.
He said that the initiative of Haryana’s Large Scale Mapping Project has been adopted by the Government of India and a nationwide scheme as ‘ SVAMITVA’ project has been launched by Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi on April 24, 2020. The ownership documents of 22 districts have been given to the owners on December 25 2020 in Haryana.
Sh. Manohar Lal also suggested that Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) should be set up under National Capital Region Planning Board so that the said funds can be made available at a low interest rate on the lines of NABARD to enable the states to develop core infrastructure, especially in the NCR region.
Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Sh. T.V.S.N. Prasad, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. V. Umashankar, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister & Director General, Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, Dr. Amit Agrawal and other officers of Finance Department also remained present on this occasion.
No.IPRDH/2021
Himani Bahuguna
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