Khattar calls upon farmers to conserve water; says 41% villages facing shortage in Haryana

Giving the title of “Amrit Krantikari Mitra” to farmers who contributed in water conservation, the CM said that “the government is taking effective steps to overcome water crisis”.

Lauding progressive farmers for conserving water by adopting “Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Yojana”, he said that groundwater depletion and drying up of water bodies has been a major concern of the government. “To overcome water crisis, PM Narendra Modi had also given a call to start a campaign for water conservation. Taking inspiration from this campaign, Haryana started “Mera Pani Meri Virasat” in the state from May 6, 2020. In this direction during Kharif season-2020, stress was given to grow less water consuming crops like maize, cotton, millet, pulses, vegetables and fruits by replacing paddy. Similarly, in Kharif season-2021, the government had included oilseeds, pulses, onion, fodder and other crops under this scheme. While ‘Poplar and Safeda’ were also included in Kharif season-2022 under this scheme,” Khattar said.

Under this scheme, financial assistance of Rs 7,000 per acre is provided to farmers for adopting crop diversification.

“This incentive amount has been transferred to the bank accounts of the farmers in two installments. The first release installment is Rs 2,000 at the time of registration on the Mera Pani-Meri Virasat portal and the second release installment of Rs 5,000 once the crop ripens. The target has been set by the state government to sow alternative crops on 2.50 lakh hectares replacing paddy area every year,” CM Mann said.

The CM added that 20 to 25 per cent water can be conserved by adopting DSR (Direct Seeded Rice) technology for paddy cultivation. That’s why the government has made a provision to provide financial assistance of Rs 4,000 per acre for adopting DSR technology.