Roller-coaster year for Saini government

It has been a roller-coaster year for the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government as it oscillated between battling challenges of “collapsing” law and order, rainwater that inundated fields and cities alike, and implementing promises made in its manifesto after it was handed out a majority in the Assembly elections last year.

Even as the government juggled challenges through the year—extortion calls to traders, flood-damaged crops, DAP fertiliser “shortages”, tardy crop procurement, unemployment—it hit the ground running after the Cabinet-formation on October 17 last year by fulfilling a key electoral promise—offering Group-C government jobs to 24,000 youth.

Another flagship initiative under Saini’s leadership was the launch of Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana, which provides Rs 2,100 monthly assistance to women from families earning less than Rs 1 lakh annually. Other public-centric decisions included an effort to improve the sex ratio by constituting the State Task Force, providing free dialysis for kidney patients in district civil hospitals, purchase of 24 crops on MSP, launching anti-drug campaigns and enactment of a law to regulate travel agents in view of the increasing illegal migration.

BJP state president Mohan Lal Badoli said the government had already fulfilled 43 of 241 poll promises, and work was underway to complete 90 more in the coming days. “We will cross the halfway mark soon and the rest will also be fulfilled well before the deadline,” he said.

On the issue of rising crime and extortion calls to traders, Badoli said, “The police have been asked to adopt a stricter approach by creation of special cells and dedicated officers deployed to curb criminal activities.”

In response to waterlogging issues, especially in Gurugram, the government claimed that rainwater was drained out within three hours in most parts.

However, the main opposition party, the Congress, is not convinced with the “achievements” of the government. “They announced that they will regularise HRKM employees but they continue to work for a pittance. The criteria for the Lado Lakshmi Yojana was diluted to reduce the number of beneficiaries. The procedure is so complicated that only 1.71 lakh have registered for the scheme so far,” said Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

He alleged that Haryana topped the list in organised crime and traders and the common man suffered because of collapsing law and order, and the farmers were in distress.

State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh said, “A ‘vote-chor’ government, the BJP is shying away from fulfilling its election promises. After committing to giving Rs 2,100 per month to every woman (that is 85 lakh women), the party narrowed down the scope by imposing a criterion. Where are the medical colleges which were to come up in every district? Unemployment, inflation, rising debt are the only takeaways of an event-management government that believes in dividing the state along caste lines,” he stated, adding that “sinking Gurugram” exposed the ground reality.

However, though the BJP admits that the rains posed a big challenge as cities and farmlands stood submerged, it said permanent redress was in the pipeline as all flood-prone spots across the state had been identified.

“We are putting systems in place to tackle this as we go about fulfilling promises. Whether it was issuing appointment letters to 24,000 youth, implementing the Lado Lakshmi Yojana or increasing incentive of Rs 1,000 per acre to Rs 1,200 per acre for stubble management, we are making progress on our manifesto promises,” CM’s media adviser Parveen Attrey said.

Realising that unemployment remains a challenge, Badoli said, “Plans are underway to establish 10 IMTs across the state. These hubs aim to not only create jobs but also boost GST revenue and overall industrial growth.”