हिंदी
Farmers will not cultivate paddy in Dhakala village of Jhajjar, the recently planted paddy crop was also uprooted, while last year paddy was cultivated in 3,000 acres of Kheda
Farmers strongly believe that both money and water are saved by planting alternate crops than paddy
Farmers will get Rs 7,000 per acre for planting alternate crops, also an incentive of Rs 10,000 per acre for three years for adopting agro forestry
Chandigarh, June 11 – Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Yojna, which was launched by the Haryana Government last year so as to promote water conservation and crop diversification has finally borne fruit. The scheme, which was launched as a result of visionary initiative of Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal, has today attracted farmers as a result of the Rs 7,000 per acre incentive amount being given to the farmers who have now themselves stepped forward to cultivate alternate crops and have started moving away from the traditional paddy crop which consumes more water.
This time the farmers of village Dhakla in Jhajjar district have jointly decided not to cultivate paddy in 3,445 acres of their agricultural land. Whereas last year paddy was sown in 3,000 acres of the village. This time, two farmers have not only uprooted their own crops but have also taken the initiative to adopt crops which consume lesser amount of water. The farmers of the village firmly believe that the cost of the paddy crop increases due to its excessive water consumption meanwhile it also excessively depletes the ground water whereas both money and water are saved while opting to grow alternate crops as government provides incentives as well.
Appreciating this decision taken by the farmers of village Dhakla, the Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that the primary objective of starting Mera Pani-Meri, Virasat Yojana last year has been achieved. This year 2 lakh acres of land is to be brought under this Yojana in the state. Expressing concern over the depleting groundwater level, the Chief Minister said that today 36 blocks of Haryana have come under the Dark Zone. If awareness on water conservation is not spread today, then the situation will worsen in the future. Last year as well, the crops consuming less water were cultivated instead of paddy in over 95,000 acres of land in the state. Under Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Yojna, 1,13,885 farmers are cultivating other low cost crops instead of paddy in 1,26,928 hectares in the state.
Farmers Santram and Jaipal, who destroyed the paddy crop in Dhakla village of former Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Sh. Om Prakash Dhankhar, had planted paddy this time by taking panchayat land on lease, but after being enlightened by the awareness spread on water conservation in the village through Haryana government’s Mera Paani-Meri Virasat Scheme these farmers decided to uproot their crops. This step taken by these farmers was discussed not only in and around the village but in the farming circles of the entire state. While sharing their experiences, Surendra and Ram Ratan, other farmers of village Dhakla, said that this time there is a visible surge in registrations on the portal of Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Yojana among those who preferred paddy crop earlier.
It is noteworthy that the Haryana Government has extended the last date for registration of farmers for Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Yojana to June 25, 2021. Under this scheme, instead of paddy, farmers who grow crops which consume less water like maize, cotton, bajra, pulses, vegetables etc., will be given an incentive amount of Rs 7,000 per acre. Not only this, agro-forestry has also been included in this Scheme this year under which, instead of paddy, the Haryana government will also provide an incentive of Rs 10,000 per acre per year to the farmer for planting 400 trees per acre.
