Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal chaired an important meeting with Administrative Secretaries today to assess the progress of CM announcements. He directed concerned officers to accelerate the implementation of each project. During the meeting, due to the delay in the 2018 announcement regarding the construction of a park in Jalghar, Parvatiya Colony, Faridabad, and the neglect in work exhibited by the concerned XEN, who cited the tender process more than three times, the Chief Minister issued a directive to initiate action against the responsible XEN.
The Chief Minister conducted a comprehensive review of projects in the Public Works (Buildings and Roads), Development and Panchayat, Irrigation, Urban Local Bodies departments, and Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board under the CM announcements. In his instructions to the administrative secretaries, the Chief Minister emphasized completing pending announcements up to the year 2020 within the current year so that people can promptly avail the benefits of these projects.
Additionally, the implementation of projects slated for the years 2021 and 2022 should also be expedited. Furthermore, the Chief Minister directed a thorough evaluation of projects and preparation of a separate list of projects that are not feasible now, so that the actual number of pending announcements can be ascertained. Simultaneously, he stressed the prompt completion of works that have already been assigned.
During the meeting, it was informed that tenders have been invited for a sports complex to be built on about 10 acres in Wazirabad in Gurugram district. Soon, all processes will be completed, and the work will be allotted. The Chief Minister ordered naming this sports complex after former Chief Minister Late Rao Birendra Singh.
During the review of projects within the Development and Panchayat Department, the Chief Minister directed officials to engage with the Sarpanches and ask for a list of the development works to be done by them, so that the works can be completed as soon as possible.
Emphasizing the state government’s commitment to providing grants to Panchayats, the Chief Minister stressed the importance of receiving formal requests for development works. To facilitate this, a comprehensive joint meeting involving Sarpanches, Village Secretaries, Block Development and Panchayat Officers, and District Development and Panchayat Officers will be convened for the same.
Addressing the construction of multi-level parking facilities in various cities, Manohar Lal recommended the development of a standardized design. This approach aims to streamline the process, eliminating the need for appointing a consultant, creating architectural designs, and obtaining permissions separately. Also, such work should be handed over to the Municipal Corporation so that they can get the parking constructed at their own level.
The Chief Minister emphasized the need to shift the focus towards empowering youth to become job creators rather than job seekers. He suggested that courses should also be designed to prepare and train new contractors for engineering works. Training in these courses should be given under Haryana Skill Development Mission or Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, enabling youth to embark on entrepreneurial paths.
In addition, a comprehensive framework at the state level should be developed to support this initiative. Besides, the youth should also be imparted training on finance management, risk management, etc. He said that students passing out from engineering and polytechnic institutes should be given apprenticeship by contractors.
It was informed in the meeting that the Chief Minister has made over 10,000 announcements, with over 7,000 already completed. Approximately 1500 projects are currently in progress and nearing completion. In addition, around 1200 announcements are pending, undergoing various stages of administrative and technical approvals. In the present meeting, 864 of these announcements were thoroughly reviewed.
The Chief Minister said that Administrative Secretaries should closely monitor announcements facing delays due to issues such as land availability, Railway Ministry involvement, and inter-departmental matters.
He instructed them to expedite these processes by conducting regular meetings. Manohar Lal also directed that a list of all the road projects for which work is to be done jointly with the National Highway Authority of India should be made and a meeting should be held with NHAI so that the projects can be completed soon.
Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Rajesh Khullar, Advisor to the Chief Minister (Irrigation) Devendra Singh, Additional Chief Secretary of Finance Department Anurag Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary of Development and Panchayat Department Anil Malik, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister V. Umashankar, Commissioner and Secretary of Irrigation and Water Resources Department Pankaj Aggarwal, Commissioner and Secretary of Urban Local Bodies Department Vikas Gupta, OSD to Chief Minister Sudhanshu Gautam, and other officers were also present in the meeting.