Haryana introduces Bill to stop ‘forcible’ conversions, faces heated protests in House
The Haryana government Friday introduced a Bill in the Assembly to prevent religious conversions “through force, undue influence or allurement,” triggering vociferous opposition from the Congress, which said it was a bid to divide communities.
Speaker Gian Chand Gupta suspended Congress MLA Raghuvir Singh Kadian for the remaining sittings of the Budget session for tearing a copy of the Bill. The suspension was later revoked on Monday. Other members of the Congress staged a walkout against Kadian’s suspension.
According to the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2022, the onus of proof lies with the accused. If conversion is done by allurement, use of force, fraudulent means of coercion, then there is a provision of imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of not less than Rs 1 lakh.
Govt to distribute tablets to govt school students of classes 10, 11, 12 by May
The Haryana government said it will start distributing mobile tablets to students of classes 10, 11 and 12 by May this year. For now, the tablets shall not be distributed to students of classes 8 and 9 as earlier announced by the state government.
The issue came to light during the Question Hour of the ongoing budget session in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Monday.
The Haryana government plans to connect government and private schools through twinning programmes for students to learn from each other.
While presenting the budget estimates for 2022-23 in the state assembly here on Tuesday, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, “Under the programme, identified government schools will be established with audio-visual classrooms and connected with a partner private school. These schools will organise shared training and learning resources.
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“I hope that the twinning programme will help in bringing society together to enable shared learning across institutions,” he said. (PTI)
In order to provide some relief to industries in NCR where norms require them to shift to cleaner fuels, the Haryana government has proposed to reimburse 50 per cent of VAT collected on natural gas purchased by MSMEs for a period of two years.
"The government recognises that industries in the national capital region (NCR) are being pushed to shift to cleaner fuels, including natural gas, due to concerns arising from the severity of air pollution. The shift would increase the cost of production for industries affecting their competitiveness,” Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said.
Khattar, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the budget for 2022-23 in the state assembly here on Tuesday. It has been proposed in the budget to provide 50 per cent reimbursement on VAT on natural gas (piped or compressed) for industries in the MSME sector for a period of two years to help them remain competitive on conversion to cleaner fuels, he said, adding that conversion towards cleaner fuels requires significant investment in infrastructure. (PTI)
Haryana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta on Tuesday announced the formation of eight committees to discuss the state budget before its passage, on the lines of the parliamentary standing committees which scrutinises Union budgets. This is for the first time since the state was formed in 1966 that different committees have been formed to discuss the budget.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who also holds the finance portfolio, had earlier in the day presented a Rs 1.77-lakh-crore budget for the financial year 2022-23 in the assembly.
Deputy Speaker Ranbir Singh Gangwa will be the chairman of the first committee. MLAs Aseem Goel, Geeta Bhukkal, Ishwar Singh, Seema Trikha, Kiran Choudhary, Parmod Kumar Vij and Ghanshyam Dass Arora will chair the other seven committees in that order. Read More
Some of the fundamental reforms in the budgetary process over the past few years, as specified by the Budget document are:
1. Introduction of Performance Linked Outlay (PLO) mechanism to link the allocations to the performance and absorptive capacity of departments to incentivise improvement in their implementation capacity.
2. Rationalisation of 132 schemes for achieving a pronounced focus on implementation.
3. Introduction of Medium-Term Expenditure Fund to accentuate spending on capital assets recognising that typically, such projects need a medium-term gestation period.
4. Aligning developmental allocations to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and introduction of an output-outcome results report pertaining to the budgetary allocations to ensure the realisation of desired developmental goals.
While presenting the Budget in the state's Assembly, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday announced the 'Sushma Swaraj Award' for women for their significant contribution or achievements in different walks of life in national and international spheres.
Khattar said, "The Sushma Swaraj Award will carry a commendation with an award money of Rs 5 lakh."
"Today is the International Women's Day. Today, we celebrate the social, economic, sports, cultural and political achievements of our Matrushakti... The women of Haryana have made considerable achievements in the past few years, especially in the field of sports and politics. Late Sushma Swaraj, a daughter of Haryana, was an inspiration to all women in India," he said in the Assembly.
"I'm not trying to reach the last person, I am starting now with the last person," Haryana CM Khattar tweeted post his Budget speech.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar presented the state budget in the Assembly today.
Abhay Chauttala as CM Khattar presented the state Budget in the Haryana Legislative Assembly in Chandigarh, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi)
LOP Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the Haryana Legislative Assembly in Chandigarh (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi)
CM Khattar presents the Budget (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi)
A look at Haryana's estimated revenue and expenditure (all figures in percent):
Source: Haryana Budget 2022-23 document
According to the Budget document, three dedicated funds will be set up "to achieve fiscal consolidation by unlocking the economic potential in various sectors to open fiscal space".
? Climate & Sustainable Development Fund to achieve green development objectives. "The proposed fund will undertake targeted activities in this regard including solid and liquid waste management, controlling water and air pollution, eliminate stubble burning, recycle plastic and undertake circular economic activities among others."
? Research & Innovation Fund to "promote scientific activity and scholarship in universities, other educational institutions, and economic enterprises in public and private sectors to link science and scholarship to decision making, investments and leverage growth".
? Venture Capital Fund to "promote entrepreneurship and support youth in establishing start-ups in terms of financial assistance as well as developing market linkages".
Among other announcements made during the Budget speech, Haryana CM Khattar said that the Pinjore garden will be revamped and a sound and light show and Bhakti Music festival shall be organised on the lines of Surajkund Crafts Mela.
Additionally, a project estimated at Rs 52 crore will be initiated for the development of Adi Badri temples and facilities for the pilgrims.
A project to restore the Lohgarh fort to commemorate the glory of Lohgarhs and the legacy of the fearless martyr Baba Banda Singh Bahadur is being planned. A Sikh heritage museum, a Martial Arts museum and other attractions would be established for the location to emerge as a tourist centre.
? The government will establish libraries in all government senior-secondary schools to provide additional learning opportunities.
? All sub-divisional level hospitals located at a minimum distance of 40-km from the nearest district hospital to be upgraded to 100-bed hospitals with the provision of adequate oxygen supply.
? Families whose annual income is or below Rs 1.80 lakh would be provided with a free basic health checkup facility once in two years.
A total of Rs 6,826.13 crores has been allocated for the Rural sector for 2022-23, which is an increase of 83.3% over the Revised Estimate (RE) of the current year. Meanwhile, Rs 8,085.73 crores have been allocated for the Urban sector, marking an increase of 54.28% over the Budget Estimate (BE) of the current year.
? Transport - Rs 2,821.83 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 12.2% over RE (Revised Estimate) of current year
? Civil Aviation - Rs 886.37 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 380.8% over BE (Budget Estimate) of current year
? Tourism - Rs 310.24 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 55.1% over RE of current year
? Irrigation and Water resources - Rs 6,136.36 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 51% over RE (Revised Estimate) of current year
? Power and Renewable Energy - Rs 7,203.31 crore for 2022-23, which includes Rs 5,983 crore as subsidy for agricultural pump sets
? Industries - Rs 598.20 for 2022-23, an increase of 31.1 over RE (Revised Estimate) of current year
? PWD (B&R) - Rs 4,752.02 crore to road and rail infrastructure for 2022-23, an increase of 59.2 % over BE of 2021-22
? Public Health Engineering - Rs 4,554.39 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 33.9% over BE of the current year
? Skill Development and Industrial Training and Employment - Rs 1,671.37 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 23% over RE (Revised Estimate) of current year
? Labour - Rs 221.97 crore for 2022-24, an increase of 240.1% over RE of current year
? Social Justice and Empowerment - Rs 10,229.93 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 22.47% over BE (Budget Estimate) of 2021-22
? Housing - Rs 383.11 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 104.7% over RE of current year
? Sports and Youth Affairs - Rs 540.50 crore for 2022-23, an increase of 37.2% over BE of 2021-22
? Rs 8,925.52 crore has been allocated for Health for 2022-23 -- an increase of 21.65% over BE (Budget Estimate) of 2021-22.
? Rs 2,017.24 crore has been allocated for Women and Child Development for 2022-23 -- an increase of 33.7% over the Revised Estimate of the current year
Allocating Rs 20,250.57 crore for the Education sector, the Haryana Chief Minister made the following announcements:
? New school health programme which proposes to screen 25 lakh school children twice a year
? Government proposes to increase the number of Sanskriti Model schools from 138 to 500. Computer education to be provided to students from Class 5 onwards in these schools
? 50 STEM labs on the lines of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) will be established where training shall in imparted in 3D printing, drone technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Block-Chain Management etc.
? Government proposes to start subject-wise Olympiads for Class 8 to 12. Students securing the highest ranks shall be sent to NASA and ISRO on exposure visits. Awards in form of scholarships to be provided to the winners of Olympiads.
? Tablets with connectivity will be provided to students of Class 10, 11, 12, studying in government schools from the coming academic session.
Safe and secure transport facilities for girl students (SATHI - Safe and Accessible Transport: Haryana initiative) to be notified beyond April 2022. The facilities will be provided to all girl students of government institutions including senior secondary schools, colleges, ITIs, polytechnics, medical, paramedical and nursing institutions.
? A total of Rs 530.94 crore have been allocated for Environment, Forests and Climate Change for the year 2022-23 -- an increase of 16.05% over Budget Estimates of 2021-22.
? Darshan Lal Jain awards will be given to two persons, carrying an award amount of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1 lakh, respectively. These awards shall be given in the name of prominent environmentalist Late Darshan Lal Jain for recognising excellence in efforts towards environment conservation and promotion
? An Eco-tourism policy to promote and develop eco tourism facilities in the state will also be initiated.
? A 150-km long nature trail from Kalka to Kalesar will be established.
? Sushma Swaraj Award will be awarded to women of Haryana for making a significant contribution or for remarkable achievements in different walks of life in the national and international sphere. The award will carry a commendation with an prize money of Rs 5 lakh.
?Haryana Matrushakti Scheme - Women from families whose annual income is less than Rs 5 lakh based on Parivar Pehchan Patra verified data and who wish to become entrepreneurs in any enterprise, trade or business will be provided access to soft loans by financial institutions to the extent of Rs 3 lakh for which interest subvention of 7 per cent will be provided for three years through the Haryana Women Development Corporation.
?Sahbhagita scheme will be implemented for women in Faridabad, Gurgaon and Panchkula in 2022-23 for working women in large cities who face a problem of safe and affordable housing. Three Mahila Ashrams will be explored through this scheme.
“With prudent fiscal management, we were able to restrict the market borrowing to about Rs 30,820 crore against the permissible limit of Rs 40,872 crore and fiscal deficit is estimated to be 2.99 percent of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) in the RE (Revised Estimate) of 2021-22. For financial year 2022-23, fiscal deficit is expected to be within prescribed limit of 3.5 per cent by the 15th Finance Commission, at 2.98 per cent of GSDP, as per the BE (Budget Estimate) of 2022-23”, Khattar said.
For Budget Estimates (BE) 2022-23, total revenue receipts are projected to be Rs 1,06,424.70 crore comprising tax revenues of Rs 73,727.50 crore and non-tax revenue of Rs 12,205.36 crore. The share of Central taxes is expected to be at Rs 8,925.98 crore and grant-in-aid at Rs 11,565.86 crore. Capital receipts are projected to be at Rs 5,393.89 crore, CM Khattar said.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who also holds the Finance portfolio, began presenting the state Budget at 10 am Tuesday. He has proposed a Budget of Rs 1,77,255.99 crore for the year 2022-23.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will be presenting the state Budget shortly.
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The BJP government in Haryana introduced the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religious Bill, 2022 in the Vidhan Sabha amid protests by the Opposition Congress on Friday (March 4). The Bill seeks to “prohibit religious conversions which are effected through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage or for marriage by making it an offence”.
What is the reasoning that the Bill mentions?
According to the draft of the Bill, “The individual right to freedom of conscience and religion cannot be extended to construe a collective right to proselytize; for the right to religious freedom belongs equally to the person converting and the individual sought to be converted. Still, there have been umpteen cases of religious conversions, both mass and individual. Obviously, such incidents have been hotly debated, more so in a multi-religious society, such as ours. The presence of pseudo-social organizations with a hidden agenda to convert the vulnerable sections of other religions. There have been instances when gullible people have been converted by offering allurement or under undue influence. Some have been forced to convert to other religions.” Read our Explainer here
The Haryana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta on Monday revoked Congress MLA Raghuvir Singh Kadian’s suspension after he expressed regret over tearing a copy of the anti-conversion bill on Friday (March 4) for which he was suspended from the ongoing budget session.
The Speaker revoked Kadian’s suspension after examining video footage of Friday’s proceedings and verifying that the latter committed the act on a “sudden provocation” after Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had spoken in the House.
Soon after the Question Hour concluded on Monday, Opposition leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda raised the issue of Kadian’s suspension with the speaker and called it an “unprecedented” and “undemocratic” move. Read more
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